How an innovative start-up is leveraging the original ingredient in Coca-Cola to kick start sustainable development in Nigeria
Nigeria has been drowning in oil for decades. Since the mid-1950’s the country has suffered from a ‘resource curse’ economy, where the main source of economic development, oil, fuels concentration of wealth in the hands of a few elite and corrupt political rulers. Oil has not only warped Nigeria’s political and economic development, gas flares from oil extraction in the Niger Delta Region, make the oil industry in Nigeria the single largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions on Earth.
While numerous books and documentaries have shined a light on this crucial global issue, the world seems at a loss for how to address it. But what if a solution was hiding in plain sight? In fact, it might just start with one of the original ingredients in the world’s most ubiquitous soft drink, Coca-Cola.
Nigerian Kolanut: the secret ingredient
A new social purpose company, Bissy Energy, aims to upend this paradigm by building the very first sustainable supply chain for the Nigerian Kolanut. The company was founded by 25-year olds Zach Jide En’Wezoh and his best friend, James Swinyard. Zach discovered Kolanut after he began reading about his family’s history in Nigeria. He was intrigued by a traditional crop that was referenced as part of social ceremonies and wanted to learn more. As he further researched Kolanut, he discovered that while popular in Nigeria, it had almost no export market outside of Nigerian Expats. He recognized there might be an opportunity to share this product with the world, and in the process, promote sustainable economic development in Nigeria.
Bissy is developing the world’s first Fair Trade supply chain for Kolanut production and will be the first certified operators in Nigeria, which is Africa’s largest economy. By popularizing Kolanut consumption in the U.S. and around the world, Bissy aims to bring sustainable economic development to one of the world’s most impoverished nations, where 75% of people are still living on less than $2 per day.
From Exploitation to Fair Trade
While Bissy has a unique ingredient and social mission, the company is following in the footsteps of other sustainability minded food and beverage companies that have leveraged traditional agricultural production to create sustainable economic growth.
The most well-known, is, of course, coffee. However, the initial development of coffee exports offers a cautionary tale of the dangers of supply chains where there is a significant imbalance in power between farmer and purchaser. Modern coffee plants all trace their roots back to the Ethiopian Plateau. From there it was cultivated on the Arabian Peninsula, before expanding worldwide after the Dutch successfully transplanted the first plant in modern-day Indonesia.
Dutch and other early coffee plantations, unfortunately, did not bring broad-based economic empowerment. Massive plantations exploited the local population, serving to concentrate wealth and fuel political corruption that’s characteristic of a country facing a resource curse – not so different from present-day Nigeria.
The ‘fair trade’ movement, which began in Europe in the 1960’s, was a reaction to fight back against the neo-colonialist exploitation of agricultural products from less developed countries. By giving disadvantaged producers a ‘fair’ price in world markets, you could support self-determined economic development. Coffee was the first fair trade product to appear on store shelves. The label and certification empowered consumers to support more equitable trade practices with their dollars. The movement since then has expanded rapidly. In 2017, fair trade products topped $9 billion in global sales and supported more than 1.6 million farmers and workers across 75 countries.
While a clear improvement over previous trade practices and a powerful tool to engage and educate consumers, Fair Trade has faced criticism that it does not go far enough. Major coffee producers, such as Starbucks, and many boutique roasters now preach the gospel of ‘direct trade’ – where you establish a relationship directly with a farmer to ensure fair prices and labor standards. This close relationship also has the benefit of allowing you to share with your customers not only a unique varietal but also the story of the farmer and place.
The Story of Yerba Mate
Yerba Mate offers a much more positive legacy, largely due to the vision of the founders of Guyaki. Guyaki was the first company to popularize Yerba Mate in the U.S. Yerba Mate is a South American plant that was also used traditionally for its stimulating effects. Guyaki’s entire business model was built upon “market-driven restoration,” where it works directly with indigenous people to preserve the rainforest in Argentina.
Unfortunately, much indigenous land and rainforest is sold in order to be clear cut and turned into cattle grazing for economic development. Guyaki helps farmers grow Mate under the rainforest canopy, allowing them to preserve their land while making a living. Guyaki also operates under a Fair Trade program where farmers are paid a Living Wage, around three times higher than market rate. Through market-driven restoration, Guyaki leverages sustainable supply chain for Yerba Mate to preserve land and improve create economic opportunity.
The founders of Guyaki poured millions of drinks at grocery stores, farmers’ markets, and trade shows to introduce Mate to the American consumer. Since then, Guiyaki has rapidly expanded, diversifying its product line from loose-leaf to canned drinks and energy shots available in most U.S. supermarkets and health food stores. All the while, the company has kept its initial mission of providing market-driven restoration.
A Sustainable Supply Chain for Kolanut
While Bissy is just starting on its sustainability journey (Bissy’s Kickstarter launched September 10th and closes October 15th ), the start-up is well on its way to developing the first sustainable and Fair Trade supply chain for Kolanut in Nigeria. Bissy has partnered with the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), an institute funded by the Nigerian government and responsible for conducting research to facilitate improved production of disease-resistant cocoa, Kolanut fruit, coffee, tea, and cashew for local cultivation. Bissy has identified five small local farms to produce Kolanut and is working towards the very first Fair Trade certification ever for Kolanut and ever in Nigeria.
Production with Purpose
Bissy and Guyaki are among a new crop of new social purpose businesses that are poised to upend the current Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) paradigm. Instead of simply working to reduce their negative impact, these companies are purpose-built to solve critical social and environmental issues. Their social missions become the way they connect to consumers, and their customers become partners with them in scaling the solution.
Take, for example, the sustainable condom company Sustain Natural. Sustain is credited with making the very first all-natural, Fair Trade condoms, but more broadly Sustain is removing the stigma around sex and birth control to empower women to take their sexual and reproductive health into their own hands. Paul Hawken’s recent book, Project Drawdown, cites educating girls and family planning as one of the most impactful areas to prevent global warming, underscoring the critical importance of birth control and sexual education.
Another example is an innovative start-up Bureo, which makes high-quality consumer goods (skateboards and sunglasses) from discarded fishing nets in Chile. The founders got fed up with the plastic pollution on their favorite surfing beaches and decided to build a company around finding a solution. Fishing nets make up 10% of ocean plastic and are the most dangerous type of plastic for marine life. Bureo partners with local communities to gather these nets, and a portion of the proceeds from the product sales are then recycled back into the local community to further develop their upcycled supply chain and product line. Bureo’s Net Plus material is certified under the International Living Future Institute’s Living Product Challenge, the world’s most advanced certification for products that create net positive impacts on Energy, Climate and Water.
This new crop of innovative companies aim to create products that go beyond simply being less bad versions of previously destructive business models, but are actually net positive – meaning for every product they produce, they actually make the world a better place. Their growth and profitability allow them to reinvest in their business and mission to expand their positive impact. These companies are turning our traditionally exploitative capitalistic system back in on itself and using the power of the market to solve crucial social and environmental issues.
In fact, solving problems is really what business does best. For too long, we have just been framing the problems incorrectly. In the words of Albert Einstein, “we cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.”
Just imagine the impact if all our inspired entrepreneurs and corporate leaders alike realized their power to create change and leveraged business to solve the world’s most crucial issues. Instead of creating social and environmental problems, businesses could quickly become one of the world’s most powerful tools for positive change.
Listen to Bissy Co-Founder Zach En’Wezoh tell his story and learn about other products with purpose and other companies re-imagine commerce at this year’s Living Product Expo, which takes place on October 8-10th in Nashville, Tennessee.
Sources:
https://www.bissyenergy.com/pages/our-farmers
https://www.drawdown.org/solutions/women-and-girls/family-planning
https://living-future.org/lpc/case-studies/the-ahi-performance-cruiser-skateboard/
