There are numerous challenges that companies from developing countries have to overcome to be able to upscale their businesses. In many cases, a wide range of prejudices concerning the efficiency of those companies deprives them of every opportunity to start trading with partners worldwide. Numerous scholars worldwide have highlighted the importance of trade for accelerating emerging countries’ development. A highly inspirational story of Good African Coffee and the man who founded it can be considered a crucial guideline for numerous business people worldwide who are determined to make a change.
Coffee is grown in many parts of the world, with Latin America currently dominating the world market. At the same time, multiple communities in East African countries that rely on coffee production are vividly underrepresented. Nevertheless, it is not the diminished quality of Arabica beans from that region or the lack of expertise in marketing and sales that are the major factors that undermine the chances for rapid development.
Andrew Rugasira was one of the few fortunate enough citizens of Uganda to get higher education of remarkable quality in Britain and establish several personal contacts that could easily evolve into highly beneficial business contacts. The above-mentioned factors allowed the entrepreneur who had sufficient experience running small businesses and organizing events to efficiently apply his expertise to the ingenious methods of organizing and promoting coffee beans production on small plants across his home country. Benzaghta et al. (2021) claim that strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis has been widely used for business planning for over six decades. Therefore, the application of the method should be considered crucial for realizing the development opportunities of Good African Coffee.
The passion that drives the African businessman can be considered the company’s main competitive edge, as the new approaches he chooses are destined to show remarkable results. At the same time, evaluating the efficiency of African Good Coffee in purely economic terms can be considered a complex undertaking, as the company is generally perceived to have an essential mission that seeks to promote the products of small local farmers. Andrew Rugasira from the outstart was determined to break the vicious cycle that did not allow African producers to realize the complex structure of world coffee trading. The entrepreneur seeks to use his company to establish a brand that can promote the quality and authentic taste of all coffee produced in East Africa.
To achieve his primary goal of putting African coffee on shelves in British and American stores, Andrew Rugasira decided that he initially had to increase the production facilities and keep at least part of the added value in Uganda. Therefore, Good African Coffee purchased several items of used equipment that could eventually allow for appropriate branding and further promotion. Roasting is the stage that determines a large part of the image of a specific coffee brand. Therefore, the company’s particular focus on the perception of roasting as a form of art that can significantly increase the price tag and the Good African Coffee brand awareness should be considered its main strength.
There are multiple weaknesses that Good African Company currently features, such as the diminished quality of equipment and the lack of formally educated employees. Moreover, numerous persistent prejudices against small African companies continue to present a crucial external factor. Nevertheless, the efficiency of multiple attempts by Andrew Rugasira to enhance the perception of African coffee in Britain and the US can be multiplied by the growing consumer trends. Millions of people have become enthusiastic about addressing environmental issues and assisting local farmers by experimenting with their products instead of relying on well-established household names.
Reference
Benzaghta, M. A., Elwalda, A., Mousa, M. M., Erkan, I., & Rahman, M. (2021). SWOT analysis applications: An integrative literature review. Journal of global business insights, 6(1), 55–73. Web.