Organic Africa Holdings - Zimbabwe

Organic Africa was established in 2007 as a Zimbabwean social enterprise by its CEO, Dominik Collenberg.

Organic Africa produces certified herbs, spices, essential oils, and indigenous medici­nal plants, including basil, calendula, corn­flower, ginger, paprika, devil’s claw, baobab powder, baobab seed oil, marula oil, ximenia oil, and mafura butter.

The company sources raw materials from its own farms, smallholder farmers, and wild collectors. More than 60% of its employ­ees and suppliers are women. Organic Africa sources most of its herbs, spices, and medicinal plants from farms owned by its two subsidiaries, Stevia Zimbabwe and La Rochelle Organics. After sourcing, the raw materials are centrally dried, sorted, and packed for shipment.

B’Ayoba and KaZa, two other subsidiaries of the group, collect baobab fruits, oil seeds, and plants from wild collectors and process them into baobab fruit powder, baobab dry fibres, and natural oils.

The investment was made with the expecta­tion of significantly expanding Organic Africa’s inclusive sourcing model by increas­ing the number of smallholder farmers and wild collectors from approximately 14,000 to 27,000, while raising average annual incomes from approximately USD 1,600 to USD 5,600. Production volumes are projected to grow from about 280 MT to more than 1,000 MT, alongside an expansion of cultivated land across both smallholder and company oper­ations. Gender inclusion is also expected to strengthen, with the share of female farmers projected to increase to more than 50%. The project is expected to continue to be underpinned by strong environmental and social standards, supported by multiple cer­tifications, including Fairtrade, FairWild, and organic certifications in key markets.

SDGs