Export Development Programme for shea butter from Nigeria

Globally Cool is working on a 4-to-5-year programme to increase the export of shea nut products to the EU and regional markets. The overall long-term vision of this project is to contribute to a transition in the Nigerian shea sector. Namely that the sector is able to transform to generating high-value and sustainably produced shea products for regional and EU markets, generating decent jobs for women and ensuring the long-term sustainability of the sector.

Nigeria is the world’s biggest producer of shea nuts, accounting for some 53 percent of the world’s output. Despite its huge potential, Nigeria’s shea industry is falling behind compared to neighbouring countries with lower shea production. Key factors in this are the lack of processing facilities, substandard processing capabilities, fragmentation of sector stakeholders and a lack of supporting services.

The project’s goal is to enable a group of Nigerian frontrunner SMEs and cooperatives to establish themselves in the EU and regional markets with business models focused on shea that is fairly sourced from women producers.

Activities

This project consists of two phases. Part of phase one is the assessment of Business Support Organisations (BSOs) and we worked on the activities below:

• Conducting needs assessment research amongst stakeholders to identify service delivery needs of actors in the value chain.
• Supporting sector stakeholders in working together on strategy development by facilitating roundtables and joint working sessions.
• Supporting the sharing of lessons learnt by exporting organisations in the implementation of sustainable and inclusive business models with the sector.
• Co-creating an action plan with the stakeholders in Nigeria, defining next steps and project activities.

Results