An African women-owned chocolate company called ’57 Chocolate is named after 1957, the year Ghana gained its freedom. In Accra, Ghana, they use a very special method to turn dry cocoa beans into opulent chocolate and confections. As previously said, the firm name is an acronym for Ghana’s most proud and happy year—its independence from British rule—which is also the meaning behind the name. The goal of Kimberly and Priscilla Addison, the company’s co-founders, is to become the go-to source for the best Ghanaian chocolate and cocoa goods. Their goal is to increase the value of native resources by converting them into premium items that honor African culture. As we discovered in class, one of the issues with developing nations and their businesses is that 57% of the cocoa beans imported into Switzerland come from Ghana. Since Ghana is the world’s second-largest producer of cocoa, it receives just $2 billion from the $100 billion global cocoa market. For this reason, this firm is equally concerned with maintaining domestic chocolate manufacturing. They believe that businesses like those will provide the impetus needed to revitalize local industries and retain profits where they belong—within the borders of their own nation. Furthermore, even though Ghana provides 25% of the world’s supply of cocoa beans, Chana is not well-known for chocolate. It is up to businesses like this one to alter that as they work to rehabilitate Ghana’s image as a chocolate-producing nation and bring manufacturing back to Africa. By developing a premium African chocolate brand that can compete on a global scale, the world’s perception of African brands will be favorably altered. By enhancing local resources, this business encourages and gives African youth the capacity to do the same.
2 responses to “’57 Chocolate Extra Activity Post”
Good stuff! Do you think this example could be followed in other parts of Africa or elsewhere in the formerly colonized countries? If so, in what kind of industries.
Yes, absolutely! During the presentation, the founders emphasized that they wanted to inspire the upcoming generations in Africa and create a dominio effect in hope that others will follow in their footsteps. They expressed that that hope that their success story will fuel other individuals in Africa to want to do the same. Once more, yes, I believe that this can also cause other countries that were former colonies such as Jamaica, Bahamas, Belize, etc, to once more strive to lead in production and revenue in the industries they are known for. For example the Bahamas may be inspires to take ahold of the salt and cotton industries once more.