Invest
Bond 2033
The climate bond:
Climate-positive chocolate
Good for the planet & for you
Organic cocoa from Dynamic Agroforestry
fairafric will store up to 4x as much CO2 in the soil as is emitted in the entire value chain.
Above a picture of a DAF farm of our partner Serendipalm.
(Copyright: Courtesy of Serendipalm and Dr. Bronner’s)
The path to climate positivity from fairafric
Climate-positive means that more climate-damaging emissions (e.g. CO2) and impacts are bound than caused.
The goal of fairafric is to leave the earth in a better condition than it was before our activities. We are not only concerned with CO2, but also with soil fertility, water storage, the highest possible biodiversity of plants and animals, resilience to climate change and the production of healthy products, among other things.
The Dynamic Agroforestry (DAF) cultivation method is based on the knowledge of the indigenous peoples of Latin America and combines many elements of regenerative agriculture or permaculture. The plants are grown in different levels (shrubs, half-stems, etc.) of the forest and different local tree species are planted: Crop trees, biomass trees, shade trees, etc. One of the main objectives is to produce a lot of biomass to improve soil quality. Therefore, not only cocoa is grown, but also other tree and plant species such as cashew, mango, pineapple, etc., which can be processed by Fairafric. The production of biomass binds a large amount of CO2 in the long term. Significantly more than is emitted in Fairafric's entire value chain.
fairafric emits significantly fewer emissions than other chocolate manufacturers thanks to its own solar-powered factory. Dennoch werden unvermeidbare Emissionen (u.a. in der Logistik) verursacht. Diese wurden bisher durch Unterstützung von Klimaprojekten in Westafrika kompensiert.
Unser großes Ziel ist es allerdings in der eigenen Wertschöpfungskette, die Umwelt besser zu hinterlassen als wir sie vorgefunden haben.
Deshalb werden wir ab 2024 unseren Kakao aus einem Dynamischen Agroforst (DAF) Projekt in Ghana beziehen. According to initial external analyses by experts, fairafric can bind 4x as much CO2 in the soil in the long term as is emitted in the value chain!
Cocoa is one of the most important cash crops in West Africa. Due to a lack of alternatives and in order to generate an income for the family, an area is often cleared and then as many cocoa trees as possible are planted on the piece of land. After a few years of intensive cultivation, the nutrient reserves in the soil are exhausted and a high use of artificial fertilizers and pesticides is necessary. In Ghana, conventional cocoa cultivation is responsible for the deforestation of 25% of the rainforest.
The cacao tree is a shade plant. This means that the cocoa tree needs larger trees (e.g. palm trees) above it to provide shade and help it to grow and thrive optimally. At DAF, care is therefore taken to ensure that the trees and plants stand next to the cocoa trees, provide sufficient shade and supply the nutrients that the cocoa tree needs. The greatest possible diversity of plants is necessary for this symbiosis. This symbiosis promotes biodiversity, increases the yield per tree, increases soil fertility and the water storage capacity of the soil and the biomass trees actively store CO2 in the soil.
In initial analyses, external experts have determined that by
storing the biomass in the soil, fairafric can store up to 4x more CO2 in the
soil in the long term than is emitted in the entire value chain.
Through our new Visitor Center, we also want to give our customers the opportunity to get a deep look into our operations. The factory visit will be combined with a visit to our farmer communities, all in one day! Unique in the world!
1. Higher cocoa premium
fairafric pays farmers a climate premium of 150$/MT in addition to the highest organic premium (660$/MT) in West Africa. This is a multiple of the regular organic premium or other certifications such as Fairtrade.
2. Diversification of income
Growing several crops helps to diversify income and makes it possible to earn an income outside of the cocoa harvest season.
3. Better soil quality & resilience to climate change
By improving soil fertility and other benefits of DAF for the soil, the plants become significantly stronger and more resistant to environmental influences. In addition, the soil quality increases the quality and yield of the fruit. This means that the land can be cultivated naturally in the long term and sustainably.
Our chocolate factory has been in rural Ghana Since 2020
We are achieving tremendous impact in 7 of 17 SDGs across all dimensions of sustainability.
Reference fairafric AG
Cord Budde
Owner Ludwig Weinrich
,,We were one of the first producers of organic & fair trade chocolate in Germany. I see a similarly bright future for Made in Africa."
Weinrich produces the brands Vivani, GEPA, iChoc, Devine and many more. More than 1 million bars are produced daily at the company's headquarters in Herford.
Weinrich joined fairafric in 2019 as a strategic investor. Weinrich has greatly increased their investment in fairafric this year.
Weinrich also trains our Ghanaian key personnel in the course of a training program and supports us in the operation of the factory.
Marie-Claire Pellerin
CEO Claro Fair Trade AG
,,fairafric will shape fair trade. Because this is the only way to create an equal economy."
Claro Fair Trade AG is the Swiss fair trade organization and has around 60 points of sale for fair trade products.
Claro has been a strategic investor in fairafric since 2019. Claro has greatly expanded its investment in fairafric this year.
Claro takes over the distribution for fairafric in Switzerland.
Wolf-Rüdiger Daetz
Aufsichtsratsvorsitzender fairafric AG
,,Ich sehe in fairafric ein enormes Wachstumspotenzial und bin überzeugt, dass das Geschäftsmodell einen neuen Branchenstandard setzen kann."
Wolf-Rüdiger Daetz hat 30 Jahre Erfahrung als CFO im Bereich internationaler Industrie mit lokalen Einsätzen in Asien, Europa und Mittelamerika. Er ist überzeugter Impact Investor bei fairafric und Schokoladenliebhaber.
Seit 2022 ist er zudem Aufsichtsratsvorsitzender bei fairafric.
Frequently asked questions about fairafric
2015
First official meetings between Hendrik and cocoa farmers and workers in Ghana.
2016
First Kickstarter campaign
Foundation of fairafric GmbH
First production
2017
Second Kickstarter campaign
Successful organic certification of the entire value chain
Switch from 20g bars to 100g bars
2018
Third Kickstarter campaign
Climate-neutral certification (both chocolate and company)
Establishment of the fairafric Foundation, which holds shares in fairafric GmbH for cocoa farmers
First Seedrs campaign (Seedrs enables startups to gain their customers as shareholders), in which 264 private individuals participated in fairafric
2019
Decision to build a larger chocolate factory on our own: On the land of the cocoa cooperative we work with, in the rural region where the cocoa beans grow.
Increase in shareholders to 360; Ludwig Weinrich and claro fairtrade AG join the fairafric family
Winner of the Lammsbräu Sustainability Award
2020
Construction of our new chocolate factory in Amanase. Record-breaking construction time of 5.5 months from the ground-breaking ceremony to the first bar.
2021
fairafric GmbH becomes fairafric AG. Within 3 days, the first convertible bond is fully subscribed with €990,000 and within 24 hours the first share issue of fairafric for €999,589.80 is sold out. fairafric buys 250 tons of cocoa beans for production in 2021 and pays the highest premiums in West Africa. fairafric also chases from record to record in 2021. fairafric more than doubles the previous year's sales and produces over 2,000,000 bars of chocolate.
2022
After an outstanding first quarter in 2022, macroeconomic shocks prevent further growth for fairafric. However, while many other brands are struggling with declining sales and discontinuations, fairafric remains present in all markets and is gaining strong market share.
fairafric also reaches the final of the German Sustainability Award 2022 and is recognized as one of the most sustainable companies in Germany.
2023
fairafric is entering the B2B business with its own line of chocolate drops. The chocolate drops are used in the products of large bakeries and cookie manufacturers, among others, and the line is soon running around the clock. fairafric launches a vegan cashew-based milk chocolate on the market, which is a complete success and becomes one of the best-selling products. fairafric receives the first major orders for contract manufacturing and starts production for the first customer in the USA.
The owners of fairafric are the founding team, our 1142 shareholders from the clientele, the Ludwig Weinrich GmbH and the claro fair trade AG as well as our team and the cocoa farmers of our partner cooperative.
In 2024, we will source organic cocoa from a dynamic agroforestry project in Ghana for the first time to achieve even greater ecological added value and pay the highest organic premium to our farmers. This will cost us more than 1 million euros.
We expect to be operationally profitable from 2025. As we will have some start-up costs with the switch to beans from dynamic agroforestry and our ingredient stocks and temporary storage facilities will have to increase significantly to enable the upcoming growth, we are forecasting a loss for 2024.
Through our new Visitor Center, we also want to give our customers the opportunity to get a deep look into our operations. The factory visit will be combined with a visit to our farmer communities, all in one day! Unique in the world!
Frequently asked questions about the bond
For every €1,000 you lend us today, you will receive €80 in interest every year until repayment begins.
Repayment begins in March 2027 and is made in 14 installments (2 payments per year in March and September) until the end of the term (Jan 2033). From March 2027, you will therefore receive a constant payment consisting of interest and repayment (a so-called annuity) of €192.07 per €1,000 invested.In the end, you will get €1,526.20 of your €1,000 back. You can find an example of the repayment plan here.The campaign will run until 999,000€ have been subscribed. Due to the high demand, we expect that there will be a full subscription quickly. We process the subscriptions according to when they are received.
We do not share information about our investors with any tax office. You simply declare interest received on your tax return. You only have to do this once, in 2030, when we pay you the interest for the entire term.
If you want to lend us money interest-free, write us a short e-mail. Of course you can also do this and support us even more.
Since the loan is issued unsecured, it can come to the total loss of your investment.
Therefore, do not invest money that you absolutely need.
The impact of fairafric
The Management Team in Ghana
Michael Marmon-Halm
Managing Director Ghana
Michael brings more than 12 years of experience in the cocoa industry in Ghana and has studied quality management.
Griselda Esther Ossei
Chief of Staff
Griselda brings a wealth of experience in accounting and supports in strategic planning and execution around the fairafric brand, marketing, HR and operations in Ghana.
Enoch Padi Adu
Technical Manager
Enoch is a process planning and system control specialist with over 15 years of cocoa processing experience with 3 multinational cocoa processing companies.
Henry Sackey
Production Manager
Henry has 9 years of professional experience in the cocoa processing industry and is well versed in quality control and quality assurance for food products.
Audrey Marmon-Halm
Quality Manager
Audrey has 11 years of professional experience in quality control and assurance.
The Management Team in Germany
Convinced?
Would you like to be part of the biggest chocolate revolution of all time and make the first climate-positive chocolate possible with your investment?
Then fill in the following form:
