Barry Callebaut has teamed up with start-up Seekewa, a digital community platform dedicated to small farmers in Africa, on a pilot project to increase and diversify the incomes of farmers on the Cocoa Horizons program. 

Both are part of MassChallenge, a global accelerator program for high-impact start-ups creating meaningful change, and the cocoa and chocolate giant aims to build a brighter future for its Cocoa Horizons’ farmers, as part of sustainability efforts and to “drive change.”

“If we want to accelerate the way we drive impact and improve different aspects of our cocoa supply chain, it is important to leverage on new ideas. Start-ups can help to drive that acceleration,” Evelyn Nassar, managing director of Cocoa Horizons, tells FoodIngredientsFirst.

“Our activities are directed to support farmers to get on a trajectory toward a living income and beyond through increased productivity and income diversification,” she explains. 

Support for farming projects
Developed by brothers and co-founders Serge and Fred Zamblé, Seekewa allows people and organizations to support small farming projects. 

Their farm-to-table model combines refundable e-vouchers and crowdfunding to improve the lives of small farmers in rural Africa.

“In Seekewa, we saw an attractive model which we are interested in piloting. It supports cocoa farmers efficiently and sustainably while securing the take-off of their non-cocoa crops,” notes Nassar.

“Cocoa Horizons is an impact-driven program focusing on cocoa farmer prosperity and helping to build self-sustaining farming communities that protect nature and children.”

Inspired by crowdfunding and an interest in healthy food and agriculture, Seekewa’s platform allows consumers to provide farmers with interest-free microloans. In return, they receive priority access and special discounts on the food produced. 

Seekewa facilitates and oversees the process to ensure farmers’ incomes are improved and consumers get healthy, fresh food straight from the source at competitive prices.

For Seekewa, collaborating with Barry Callebaut through MassChallenge has been a hugely valuable experience.

“Working with Barry Callebaut was an obvious fit for us. They have operations in our country and social commitments that align with our own. Their mentorship has been incredible, as well as the opportunity to work with such an open and trusting team,” explains Fred Zamblé, CEO and co-founder of Seekewa. 

Cocoa Horizons
For their joint pilot project, the Cocoa Horizons’ program provides funding and a pool of beneficiary farmers and business mentorship and advice. 

“Cocoa Horizons is our preferred vehicle to support the implementation of our sustainability activities because of its capability to drive impact. The program is already present in six origins and reached about 111,000 farmers last year,” Nassar underscores. 

Seekewa uses its technology and expertise to manage the projects from start to finish and secure a market for the Cocoa Horizons farmers’ crops in Côte d’Ivoire.

For any project that meets its productivity targets, Seekewa commits to buying at least 90 percent of the crops, with a guaranteed minimum profit of 20 percent going to the farmers. 

The farmers can keep the remaining 10 percent of the crops to feed their family and community, thereby improving local food security and ensuring varied nutrition. 

The pilot aims to test the Seekewa model, with the potential to be scaled-up to as many Cocoa Horizons farmers as possible in different locations.

Future plans
Seekewa hopes to be the largest marketplace for fresh foods globally, with consumers purchasing directly from farmers, providing the most enjoyable and impactful farm-to-table experience for the next-gen food systems. 

Their vision is one wher everyone will know the origins of their food, all farmers will receive a fair income, and no middlemen will take a cut of the profit.

In the short term, Seekewa wants to develop a private, customized version of their platform for Barry Callebaut and other companies. 

This will allow employees, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders to join their efforts to improve the living conditions and resilience of the beneficiaries in a sustainable way and work together to create a better future, they say.

Earlier this month, Barry Callebaut’s Chocolate Academy North America launched Volume I of the Ruby Encyclopedia, a guide for chefs working with the fourth type of chocolate. 

Last month, Barry Callebaut reported that over the last several years, there has been an increasing interest in marrying both indulgence and health when consumers treat themselves.