HIBAPRESS
A new African initiative has been launched in the city of Marrakech, aiming to restructure the coffee value chain within the continent, through the Regional Program for the Development of the Coffee Value Chain in Africa, launched by the "African Coffee Hub" platform with the support of the Islamic Development Bank, and with the participation of eight African countries that have actually engaged in the project.
According to a press release issued on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, the initiative seeks to enable Africa to regain a larger part of the economic value of the global coffee market, in light of the continued export of about 80 percent of African production in the form of raw beans, which makes African producers receive only a percentage ranging between 1 and 10 percent of the final selling price. The platform, headed by Sanaa Benabdelkhaleq, confirmed that the project is based on building an integrated African system that includes unifying quality standards, digital tracking, blending, packaging, and export logistics starting from the port of Tangier-Med. The details of the program were announced during the regional forum held on May 5 and 6 in Marrakech, in partnership with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, within a framework that aligns, according to the statement, with the royal directives related to strengthening South-South cooperation, as well as with the 2026-2035 ten-year strategic framework of the Islamic Development Bank Group. The forum witnessed the signing of the first batch of memoranda of understanding with the Ministers of Agriculture of Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Madagascar, in addition to the Ugandan company "Banta African Coffee Ltd," headed by Nzeeri Kaguta, the brother of the President of Uganda. Also, the Nigerian company "AGARA" announced the allocation of 2,000 hectares for the benefit of the "African Coffee Hub", in addition to providing a space dedicated to establishing the largest African research center for coffee, under the supervision of the Moroccan platform, in a step aimed at enhancing scientific and technical research related to the sector. The project is betting on the strategic positioning of Morocco within the African value chain, benefiting from the logistical infrastructure of the port of Tangier-Med, and the experience of OCP Africa in the agricultural field, in addition to the network of economic and diplomatic relations that Morocco has accumulated within the continent. The project will be implemented in two phases, the first of which includes supporting agriculture, gathering producers, unifying post-harvest practices, and launching export operations, while the second phase concerns international certifications and digital tracking via NFC technology and identifiable packaging according to international quality and ethics standards. The new African alliance includes Sierra Leone, Guinea, Madagascar, Uganda, Togo, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, and Morocco, in addition to the structural commitment from Nigeria through the company "AGARA." According to market data in the statement, the value of the global coffee market reached about $245.2 billion in 2024, with expectations that it will rise to $380 billion by 2034, at a time when this chain provides a livelihood for about 100 million people around the world.
