Fairtrade Africa

What Fairtrade Africa does

Fairtrade Africa is an independent non-profit organization headquartered in Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya, and a regional member of the global Fairtrade International network. The organization works with certified producer organizations across 29 countries in Africa and the Middle East, representing approximately 1.5 million smallholder farmers and workers organized into cooperatives and plantation associations producing cocoa, coffee, tea, sugar, flowers, wine grapes, bananas, and other commodities. Fairtrade Africa operates four regional networks — the Secretariat and Middle East and Northern Africa Network (MENA), the East and Central African Network (ECAN), the West African Network (WAN), and the South African Network (SAN) — with offices in Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Malawi, and South Africa. The organization is governed by a continental Board of Directors comprising seven members, four of whom are producer representatives, ensuring standards and priorities are set with farmer input.

The company's core offering is the Fairtrade Certification System, built around social, environmental, and economic standards that producers and businesses must meet to display the FAIRTRADE Mark on certified products. Supporting mechanisms include the Fairtrade Premium, an additional sum paid on top of the selling price that producer organizations invest in community development projects, and the Living Income Reference Prices, evidence-based benchmarks designed to ensure farmers earn a living income. The organization has also developed Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD) tools and training resources to help companies comply with emerging regulations such as the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). Fairtrade-certified products bearing the FAIRTRADE Mark appear on 37,000+ items in over 140 countries globally.

Fairtrade Africa is financed through three principal revenue streams: producer-financed membership contributions from certified producer organizations, donor-funded grants from development agencies and foundations supporting programmes and capacity building, and licensing and certification fees paid by businesses using the FAIRTRADE Mark on their products. The organization's projected 2026-2028 strategy carries a €49.5 million three-year budget, an 11% increase over the prior strategy cycle, with membership contributions expected to grow 35% and donor funding 19% over the period. As a member-based non-profit, Fairtrade Africa reinvests income into producer services, advocacy campaigns such as Change Day, and standards development rather than distributing profit.

Name

Fairtrade Africa

Legal name

Fairtrade Africa

Website

https://fairtradeafrica.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1905

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Fairtrade Africa is a Nairobi-based non-profit and regional member of Fairtrade International, certifying producer organizations across 29 African and Middle Eastern countries and serving approximately 1.5 million smallholder farmers through the FAIRTRADE Mark, Fairtrade Premium, and Living Income Reference Price systems.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fair Trade Certification Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910)

akta.pro primary industry

Fair Trade & Ethical Supply Chains (Certification, Traceability, Producer Support) (BPAGALAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing Certification Services (AFALAMAD), Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (Fair Trade, Food Access, Regenerative) (BPAGALAD)

Keywords

• Fair trade certification
• Ethical sourcing standards
• Producer organization support
• Supply chain due diligence
• Living income benchmarking

Headquarters

HQ city

Westlands

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Contributions: Producer-financed membership contributions from certified producer organizations, expected to grow 35% over the 2026-2028 strategy period
2. Donor-Funded Project Funding: Funding from donors, development agencies, and foundations to support programmes and capacity building for producer organizations, expected to grow 19%
3. Licensing and Certification Fees: Fees from businesses and companies that become licensed to use the Fairtrade Mark on their products

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Fairtrade Africa is a non-profit certification and standards organization that certifies producer organizations (smallholder farmer cooperatives and plantation workers) and licenses the FAIRTRADE Mark to businesses sourcing commodities such as cocoa, coffee, tea, flowers, sugar, bananas, and cotton across 29 countries in Africa and the Middle East. It sets social, environmental, and economic standards, operates the Fairtrade Premium fund mechanism that channels additional payments to producer communities, provides Living Income Reference Prices as buyer benchmarks, and delivers training and capacity-building programmes through four regional networks (ECAN, WAN, SAN, MENA).

Product overview

Fairtrade Africa operates as a certification and standards organization rather than a technology product company. Its core offerings include the Fairtrade Certification System, which verifies compliance with Fairtrade standards, and the Fairtrade Mark that certified products can display. The organization provides Living Income Reference Prices as benchmark tools for buyers to ensure fair farmer compensation, and the Fairtrade Premium system which directs additional funds to producer community development. HREDD (Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence) tools and training resources support companies in implementing responsible supply chain practices. The portfolio covers certification services, standards development, price benchmarking tools, premium fund management guidance, and compliance training.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fairtrade Certification System A third-party verification system that audits producer organizations and supply chain companies against Fairtrade's social, environmental, and economic standards, granting certified entities the right to use the FAIRTRADE Mark on their products. It is used by cooperatives, plantation operators, and brands sourcing from Africa and the Middle East.
• Fairtrade Standards Documented requirements defining fair minimum prices, Fairtrade Premium, decent working conditions, environmental sustainability criteria (including deforestation-free sourcing), and fair terms of trade for smallholder farmers, hired-labour plantation workers, and traders in Africa and the Middle East.
• HREDD Tools and Training Standalone Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence toolkits, implementation guidebooks, and training resources offered to companies and plantations to operationalise responsible supply chain practices and meet EU Deforestation Regulation and related due-diligence obligations.

Quantifiable outcome

• €222.8 million in Fairtrade Premium earned by producer organisations in 2022
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• GovernmentscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPolicy advocacy and stakeholder mobilization partnerships with governments across Africa and Middle East to create enabling environments for fair trade and sustainable agriculture
• Civil Society OrganizationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnerships with civil society organizations to advance producer rights, environmental sustainability, and fair trade advocacy
• Private SectorcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnerships with businesses to adopt Fairtrade sourcing terms, use the Fairtrade Mark, and enhance supply chain resilience
• Fairtrade InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of Fairtrade International, the global parent organization that sets worldwide Fairtrade standards and coordinates the international Fairtrade system spanning over 100 countries

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bonsucro: Global non-profit certification standard for sustainable sugarcane covering smallholder and plantation producers. Mirrors Fairtrade Africa's dual-sided model of certifying producers and licensing a sustainability mark to downstream buyers in a comparable commodity.
• World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO): Global non-profit representing fair trade enterprises and producer organisations through a Guaranteed Fair Trade label and member-based governance model. Shares Fairtrade Africa's mission of fair pricing, decent working conditions, and smallholder empowerment across emerging-market supply chains.
• Better Cotton Initiative: Multi-stakeholder sustainability standard for cotton covering 20+ countries with a licensing and assurance system. Comparable in operating model (producer certification, brand licensing fees, sustainability claims) and in serving global supply chain buyers seeking ethical raw material sourcing.
• Fairtrade International: Parent organisation of Fairtrade Africa and global owner of the FAIRTRADE Mark, Fairtrade Standards, and licensing system. Operates in the same product categories and certification methodology, with regional members (including Fairtrade Africa) implementing its standards at producer level.
• Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO): Multi-stakeholder certification body for sustainable palm oil with a producer certification and trader/licensee model. Operates a parallel governance and licensing structure addressing deforestation, labour rights, and smallholder inclusion — overlapping materially with Fairtrade Africa's mandate.
• Rainforest Alliance: Global non-profit operating the most direct competing ethical certification scheme (including the former UTZ programme) for coffee, cocoa, tea, and bananas. Both organisations certify producers, license an eco/social label to brands, and earn revenue from certification fees and licensing royalties in overlapping supply chains.

Broad incumbents

• GlobalG.A.P. World's leading farm assurance programme covering Good Agricultural Practices across crops, livestock, and aquaculture. Provides producer certification and buyer-facing traceability infrastructure that overlaps with Fairtrade Africa's scope, particularly for bananas, flowers, and other plantation commodities.
• IFOAM – Organics International: Global umbrella body for the organic agriculture movement, coordinating organic standards and certification frameworks used in many of the same supply chains (cocoa, coffee, bananas). Represents an adjacent certification regime that buyers often combine or substitute with Fairtrade-certified sourcing.
• B Lab (B Corporation): Global non-profit certifying "B Corp" companies against social and environmental performance standards, with a comparable certification, licensing fee, and brand recognition model. Competes for the same corporate sustainability and consumer-facing ethical credentials budget, though focused on companies rather than commodities.

Emerging players

• Solidaridad: International civil society organisation working with smallholder farmers and workers across commodities (cocoa, coffee, palm oil, textiles) in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Implements supply chain programmes and certification support with comparable smallholder focus but operates project-based rather than label-licensing business model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/fairtradeafrica
• Facebookfacebook.com/FairtradeinAfrica
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fairtrade-africa
• Instagraminstagram.com/fairtrade_africa
• Xx.com/fairtradeafrica

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fairtrade Africa