ZICOFE is a social coffee trading company established in 1984, incorporated in March 1991, and began exporting in 1992. Located along the Mityana main highway in Mityana District, Zigoti Parish, in Uganda’s central region, the company also operates in the hospitality and beverage distribution sectors. ZICOFE is described as a “2005 Mercedes, robust with a long-time service,” symbolizing its enduring presence.
The company’s current 3-year strategy focuses on supporting smallholder farmers, particularly women, to enhance the production, processing, trade, and marketing of quality certified Robusta and Arabica coffee. ZICOFE works through sustainable partnerships with farmer organizations, totaling 4,160 producers, with a network expanding to 8,000 farmers by 2025. This ensures a regular supply of high-quality coffee and aims to improve farmers’ income. In February 2024, ZICOFE received its first-year Fair Trade certification.
As a member of the International Women and Youth in Coffee Alliance (IWCA), ZICOFE is led by a female Managing Director dedicated to the economic empowerment of women and youth through coffee production and collective marketing of women’s specialty coffees. The team is composed of approximately 30% female employees. The company’s producers/suppliers own 12.27% of ZICOFE’s shares.
ZICOFE’s successes include surviving the 1998 coffee price fluctuation, being one of the local coffee exporters for over 30 years, and becoming the first Ugandan coffee company to export to Asia (Japan). They are proud of their strong young team, increased number of willing coffee farmers, ability to generate coffee leads online, and the recent Fair Trade certificate expected to benefit almost 8,000 farmers. However, the company faces challenges such as market retention, difficulties in renegotiating with buyers, and cash flow issues.
TDC Coaching Program
To address these hurdles and build on its strengths, ZICOFE participated in the Trade for Development Centre (TDC) coaching program in marketing, tailored for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and producer organizations.
The objective of this coaching program is to strengthen ZICOFE’s commercial management skills, enhance market access, and foster sustainable growth by developing tailored strategies that address market volatility, improve customer engagement, and boost overall competitiveness. What is being done includes a series of 4 to 5 on-site coaching modules over up to three years, delivered approximately every six months by marketing specialists. These participatory sessions focus on strategic marketing—such as crafting a comprehensive marketing plan, market positioning, and trend analysis—and operational marketing, including creating communication tools, prospecting for new customers, refining negotiation and sales skills, and amplifying online visibility. The approach emphasizes “learning by doing,” ensuring ZICOFE owns the strategies and innovations implemented.
Preliminary training
The coaching trajectory itself is preceded by an initial five-day training that aims to analyze the organization’s structure, covering:
- Market aspects (SWOT analysis, market analysis)
- Financial aspects (cost price calculations, reading accounts).
- Environmental sustainability and decent work aspects (risk management, gender policy, traceability systems, living income gap calculation).
The goal is to equip organizations with relevant information for direct use, serving as an initial reinforcement for their structure, aiding decision-making, and enhancing their understanding of their environment.
The participatory approach enabled the team to recognize successes such as long-term exports, pioneering Asian markets, a dynamic young staff, and Fair Trade certification, while identifying areas for improvement like market retention, missed sales targets, cash flow, and EUDR compliance funding. The training provided relevant decision-making tools, empowering ZICOFE to address governance, HR, financial management, and marketing priorities with greater clarity and confidence.
