Yakeva

Intimate Country Knowledge & Network: Born in the U.S. and raised in Cameroon; 12+ years of lived experience in Douala Fluent in French (Native) In-Depth Financial & Private Company Acumen: Professional experience in Private Equity at AEA Investors (Industrials / Tech-Enabled Services) and Investment Banking at Lazard (Healthcare M&A) Global Education & Relationships: Graduate of Cornell University as a Business / Finance major and Computer Science minor

Across much of Africa, economies remain heavily dependent on agriculture and the export of low-value primary commodities, while many higher-value processed and finished goods are imported. This creates a significant opportunity to capture more economic value locally by processing Africa’s abundant raw materials into higher-value semi-finished and finished products. For Africa to realize its full economic potential and strengthen intra- and international trade, it must move further up the value chain. Increasing agricultural productivity, developing local processing capacity, creating formal employment, and building scalable industries are among the most effective ways to accelerate economic growth and create sustainable prosperity. Our mission is to industrialize African agriculture, beginning with Cameroon’s cassava industry. We aim to build a robust, vertically integrated agricultural value chain spanning cultivation, processing, and distribution. As the business scales, we will develop an out-grower and cooperative model that enables smallholder farmers to participate directly in the value chain while becoming more skilled, productive, and economically self-sufficient. Our vision is to become the most valuable producer and exporter of value-added agricultural products in Central Africa, measured not only by economic value created, but also by the scale of our social and developmental impact.

The power of competition in this market is low. Contrary to Western markets, most agribusiness industries in Central Africa are far from perfectly competitive, with many not yet industrialized. In Cameroon, the agribusiness industries that have reached an industrial scale tend to be monopolistic or oligopolistic in nature, including oil palm, sugar, cocoa, cotton, coffee, and rubber. The cassava industry, by contrast, is highly fragmented. There are currently no cassava producers or processing companies known to dominate the market in any significant capacity. In 2014, a joint venture between the local municipality of Sangmelima and the Chamber of Commerce invested $4.5 million in a cassava flour and starch manufacturing plant with a production capacity of 120 tons per day. The project ultimately failed due to a lack of raw materials. The factory never became operational and was eventually abandoned. Had the project succeeded, it would have been the largest cassava processing company in Central Africa by a significant margin. Although most cassava flour and gari processing in Cameroon remains traditional and manual, several small enterprises have demonstrated the ability to produce medium- to high-quality cassava products. Cassavita Cassavita, an I&P-backed company, produces Watafufu powder, a dish consumed across many regions of Cameroon and Nigeria, and is developing cassava- and modified-starch-based pastry flour. The company also exports its products to the US market. At present, Cassavita does not produce its own cassava and instead sources raw materials from smallholder farmers in the Southwest region. Separately, we learned from residents of Limbe that the company had paused operations in 2021 due to the ongoing socio-political conflict in the region. Other Producers O’DEVI, HELOGAN, and Les Secrets de Ma’a are additional Cameroonian producers of cassava-based food products, including flour, gari, and fufu. It is unclear what volumes these companies currently sell, but their products are available in supermarkets, including Carrefour locations in Douala. The photographs below were taken in two Carrefour supermarkets in Douala, in the fruit and vegetable sections. O’DEVI also exports its products to international markets.

The best kind of client, is a client that becomes a partner in the project. They are passionate about their brand and product. Jonathan is a true entrepreneur, he was fully committed from day one. Jonanthan came fully prepared with all the information we could possibly ask for, a complete competitor analysis and ideas on packaging.