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Company gears up to create a global market for African Baobab fruit

Aduna calls for Nigeria’s votes to create income for 1m women in rural Africa~ Company gears up to create a global market for African Baobab fruit ~Accra, 8 June 2015: Aduna, the Africa-inspired health food brand & social business is seeking to create a global market for African baobab fruit, which grows more abundantly in…

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Aduna calls for Nigeria’s votes to create income for 1m women in rural Africa~ Company gears up to create a global market for African Baobab fruit ~Accra, 8 June 2015: Aduna, the Africa-inspired health food brand & social business is seeking to create a global market for African baobab fruit, which grows more abundantly in Nigeria than any other African country. The company’s mission is to create demand for natural products from small-scale producers in Africa – starting with baobab. To this end, the company has beaten 2,500 companies to reach the Final 10 of Virgin’s “Pitch to Rich” competition, and needs Nigerians’ votes to win a NGN 77m marketing campaign, which they will use to Make Baobab Famous and create sustainable livelihoods for 10m households in Nigeria and the rest of Africa. The link to vote is: http://www.virginmediabusiness.co.uk/pitch-to-rich/grow/aduna/. Baobab is a nutrient-dense fruit that grows in severely-deprived North Nigeria. Baobab trees are entirely community-owned & wild-harvested. There are thousands of communities in Northern Nigeria alone that can supply baobab fruit from a crop that is so abundant, it goes mainly to waste. Aduna Co-Founder & MD Andrew Hunt said: “Aduna is already sourcing baobab from 1,100 women in Northern Ghana, with average annual income increasing from just NGN 2.300 to NGN 28.100 – this is transformative. We need Nigerians to take 10 seconds to vote for us so we can get Richard Branson’s backing to Make Baobab Famous and radically scale-up our work to reach Nigeria.”

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Aduna has pioneered a new model for development in rural Africa. Recognising the failure of the traditional aid model where donor-funds are invested in cash-crop “development projects” that ultimately fail due to lack of demand, Aduna focuses on creating a market for existing indigenous species that already grow in abundance. The company invests heavily in marketing to build demand for Africa’s under-utilised natural products then directs that demand to rural producers via its pro-poor supply chain.

By voting for Aduna, Nigerians will be automatically entered into Virgin’s prize draw to win NGN 3m. A d u n a L t d L a f o n e H o u s e 1 1 – 1 3 L e a t h e r m a r k e t S t , L o n d o n S E 1 3 H N T 0 2 0 7 1 0 0 4 3 2 9 E i n f o @ a d u n a . c o m www.aduna.comRegistered in England No. 7641546 at the address above. VAT No. GB 117 9398 79Twitter/ Instagram/ Facebook: @adunaworld #makebaobabfamous #pitchtorich #voom- ENDS -¹ The National Resource Institute, 2006, estimated 2-3m rural households in Southern Africa alone, which makes up roughly one third of thetotal outstanding baobab crop across the continent.² National Geographic – http://blogs.ngm.com/blog_central/2010/08/vitamin-tree.html For more information, please contact Sophie Capron on +44 7867 421 226 or sophie.capron@aduna.com Notes to EditorsABOUT ADUNAAduna is an Africa-inspired health & beauty brand and social business. Our mission is to create demand forexceptional and under-utilised natural products sourced directly from small-scale producers in Africa.

 

Our brandand products breathe the vibrancy of Africa into the daily lives of people all over the world, creating a virtuouscircle that feeds significant positive impacts back to the source. Our range of African super-ingredients includeBaobab, the vitamin-rich superfruit from the ‘Tree of Life’ and Moringa, the nutrient-dense superleaf of the ‘MiracleTree’. Available in 100% natural powder format and as delicious raw energy bars made from organic fruit andnuts, Aduna’s super-ingredients help bring out your natural vibrancy. Aduna means ‘life’ or ‘world’ in Wolof, themain local language of Senegal and The Gambia, where Aduna’s founders discovered their passion for Africa.Aduna’s logo is adapted from a Ghanaian Adinkra symbol called ‘Owia Kokroko’ which stands for vitality, renewal,life-giving energy and the power of the sun. ABOUT PITCH TO RICH#Voom: Pitch to Rich 2015 is a nationwide competition run by Virgin Media Business to find the country’s mostexciting and innovative businesses. Virgin Media Business is offering an unprecedented £1m businessaccelerator prize fund to support three winning businesses – whether it’s just an idea, a promising start-up or acompany with huge growth potential. The competition is the latest Virgin Media Business initiative to supportsmall, growing UK businesses – the disproportionate drivers of the national economy. This has included theintroduction of specifically-designed broadband services and the creation of free expert resources to helpentrepreneurs make the most of the opportunities created by the digital world.

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