A sweeter deal for cocoa farmers

Anian Schreiber, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Koa

2 min read
  • The global cocoa industry's annual revenues total over 20 billion US dollars.1 West Africa plays a huge part in this, contributing 81% of the world's cocoa.2 Yet most of West Africa's smallholder farmers who harvest the cocoa live in poverty.
  • Koa is a Ghanaian-Swiss business that enables smallholder farmers to sell, not just cocoa beans, but the fruit's pulp too. The result? Better incomes for the farmers, a stronger economy for Ghana and 40% less food waste going to landfill.3
  • Anian Schreiber co-founded Koa with Benjamin Kuschnik in 2017, believing that sustainable technology has the power to unlock new economic opportunities in West Africa.
  • Koa uses an innovative mobile solar-powered fruit-processing system. The system enables Koa to extract cocoa pulp right next to the cocoa farms, then buy it from the farmers on the same day.
  • In just three hours, Koa pasteurizes and packages pulp-based juice and powder products, ready to ship to kitchens worldwide. These deliciously sweet and versatile ingredients are creating exciting opportunities for the food and drink industry.
  • Koa is currently growing its operations, building a second factory in Ghana which will create 250 additional jobs and bring 10,000 more smallholder farmers on board.
  • Various renowned media outlets, including the BBC, have reported on Koa. Watch the BBC's report here.
  • Anian Schreiber was born and raised in Southern Germany and has been living in Switzerland since 2012. He gathered his first professional experience as a professional sailor representing the German national sailing squad.
  • After finalizing his studies in Business Administration & Management in Kiel, Anian’s passion for competition and joy for nature brought him from sailing to Yingli Green Energy and the then upcoming solar energy industry. In 2017 he co-founded Koa Impact where he’s currently operating as Managing Director.

1 https://www.statista.com/outlook/cmo/hot-drinks/cocoa/worldwide

2 https://www.kakaoplattform.ch/about-cocoa/cocoa-facts-and-figures

3 https://koa-impact.com/impact

Portrait of Anian Schreiber
We're transforming West Africa's cocoa industry – increasing income for farmers, boosting jobs, growing the economy and reducing food waste.

Koa works towards these UN Sustainable Development Goals:

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