Petra with ECATH in East Africa
I have been in East Africa for just about a week now. The start was a bit delayed, because of the difficult situation in Kenya after their elections in December. However, I am finally here and everything is going great so far.
I am to work with 5 local companies that are in the organic cosmetic industry and that intend to enter the US market. My support to them is as part of a program sponsored by the East and Central Africa Trade Hub (ECATH).
My role is to provide guidance in terms of Marketing, Labelling and Pricing, from a short term as well as from a longer term perspective. Each of the companies are preparing for the participation in the Natural Products Expo West trade show in Anaheim Ca, in March, so there is a lot of very specific short term marketing strategies to be worked out, as well as a post show and a longer term strategy to be successful on the US market.
So far I have met 2 of the companies, one in Nairobi, Kenya and another in Kampala, Uganda – both exporting and manufacturing shea butter, and working with networks of women either in Uganda or Sudan. In both cases, the companies’ objectives are not only to produce and sell a great product but also to provide an important source of sustainable revenue to the groups of women in areas that have been swept by wars and that still have very limited infrastructure, if any. So, even in the short amount of time I have been involved with the project, it has already been very exciting and inspiring. I am looking forward to continue supporting all of these enterprises as much as I can over the next several weeks.