A lot has happened at fairafric in the last few years. Today we have some exciting news to share. fairafric has become a public limited company. We would like to take you on a little journey through time and tell you about the background of the conversion.
Let’s roll back the clock. The idea for fairafric was born in 2013, when Hendrik was traveling in East Africa equipped with a backpack and a tent. He meets coffee farmers there who roast their own coffee directly on the farm. After this experience, Hendrik constantly thinks about what a huge difference it would make to produce the finished products in Africa instead of just exporting ingredients. Determined to make a real difference and create jobs with sustainable income, Hendrik starts to learn everything he can about chocolate and cocoa farming. A year later, after countless phone calls, hours of research and negotiations, the first bars of chocolate are coming off the production line at our then partner CPC in 2015. Just one year later, we launch our first major crowdfunding campaign.With this secured funding and increased motivation, it takes only 4 months until the first bars were produced in August. After our first chocolate bars made their way from Ghana to Germany, we realize: we want more! So in 2017, we launch our second Kickstarter campaign! The goal: Seven flavors of organic chocolate made in Africa. Thanks to our partners, the cooperative Yayra Glover and the company Niche Cocoa, we hold the first dark & milk chocolate bars in our hands in the fall of 2017. in our hands in the fall of 2017. This year, not only did we manage to become certified organic, but also a certified supplier of the fair trade shop confederation. In 2019, our idea of our own solar-powered chocolate factory in Amanase, Ghana takes shape. We also have our first fairafric bond to subscribe to, which helps us continue to raise capital to build the factory. In 2020, our planned construction of the factory in Ghana becomes more concrete and thanks to another successful bond and Kickstarter campaign, the foundation is finally laid. To better manage the factory locally, the subsidiary fairafric Ghana Limited, is established.
So here we are: November 2020. On November 20th, 2020, we’ve officially initiated the transformation of fairafric GmbH into a stock company. The company and its employees are still the same, so don’t worry. We now have a board of directors with Hendrik as the CEO. There are several reasons why we converted fairfric GmbH into a public limited company. One is that by selling shares instead of bonds, we can now get investments on board easier and faster. Thus, we have increased our share capital and created new shares. The legal form of GmbH vs. AG has nothing at all to do with profit-making intentions. The reason why large companies are almost always an AG is because they had to organize capital in order to grow. This is also the case for us. Whether and in what amount profits are to be made and whether they are distributed or not, does not differ. Are we now becoming a “hardcore corporation” à la SIEMENS – definitely NO! fairafric is now simply owned by many shareholders. Doesn’t that suit us much better? Our motivation: We want to make our customers and our network co-owners.
The newly formed Supervisory Board of fairafric AG includes 7 women and men with two women as chairperson . The Supervisory Board is appointed for 5 years and the main task is to control and advise the Management Board. You may be wondering who has the final say in the company now? The supervisory board or the management? Our answer: both! The structure is designed to allow communication and compromise for optimal decision-making. Operationally, the Management Board is more involved, while the supervisory board is more involved in strategic matters.
At invest.fairafric.com you can find all the information you need to invest in fairafric. Find out now about social and sustainable investments without obligation and create a better chocolate world with us!
