Coffee Innovation Fund Awards over 2.5 Mln Birr Investment Prize for 5 Ethiopian Entrepreneurs

Addis Ababa May 24/2021 (ENA) The second round Coffee Innovation Fund (CIF) has awarded 2.53 million Birr investment prize for five Ethiopian entrepreneurs.

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in cooperation with Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority launched today the second Edition of The Coffee Innovation Fund (CIF) for the year 2021.

The fund, active in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, has awarded five innovative ideas up to 2.53 million Birr in investment to Debo Engineering, Konjo Coffee, Carble B.V, YA Coffee and Moyee Coffee Roasting Ethiopia.

The winning companies also receive technical support and capacity development training from the programme, it was learned.

The fund introduces innovative and scalable solutions to increase the profitability of small-holder coffee farmers and foster fairer value distribution in the supply chain by partnering with the private sector.

According to a press release issued by BMZ, 30 ideas were submitted to the CIF 2.0 team in Ethiopia and went through a rigorous selection process to identify and award the 5 winners.

The winning companies range from technology providers to roasters innovating in the areas of inclusive business models, innovative production, income diversification, and access to markets.

These five winning innovations will bring solutions to the critical challenges of the coffee sector in Ethiopia.

Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority Director General, Adugna Debela said modernization of the coffee value chain, specifically in value addition, is essential.

“The government has plans to enable sustainable changes in the lives of the farmers by supporting innovative ideas, processes and projects,” Adugna stated.

GIZ Programme Manager, Karin Cristina Allgoewer said “introducing new technologies and best practices to modernize the coffee industry by bringing together the private sector and the farmers is the aim of the Coffee Innovation Fund. The innovative and inclusive business models will have a positive impact at the farm level, as well as in the Ethiopian coffee sector in general.”

German Cooperation has been supporting Ethiopian Government initiatives for over 50 years.

The Coffee Innovation Fund is a private sector investment plan implemented by the Sustainable Agricultural Supply Chains and Standards Programme of GIZ.