From coffee agent to coffee exporter

Rubanga Co-operative Society Limited (Rubanga) started in early 1980s, and registered on July 10, 1986. It collapsed in 1990s and then revived in 2009. The cooperative is involved in the procurement, processing and sales of Maize, Coffee, Millet and Soya Bean. There are 6000 individual members divided in 400 farmer groups. The Manager and other staff are paid from the profits generated from the businesses. Other staffs include; Project Coordinator (coordinating a farmer capacity building project supported by aBi Trust), Accountant, Extension Officer, Gender Officer, and the Operations Manager. Farmers bring their coffee at specific bulking centers which were established by the cooperative. It is the farmers who transport their coffee on bicycles or motorcycles to the bulking centers. At the bulking center, the cooperative arranges transport (hires a truck) to pick the coffee which is then taken to its storage facility for hulling. After hulling, the coffee is stored until a good buyer is got. Currently, the major buyers include; Ankole Coffee Producers Cooperative Union (ACPCU), Great Lakes Coffee Company Ltd, among others. Rubanga contacted Agriterra at the beginning of 2014 as a result to their on-going challenges in realizing their business ambitions. Agriterra conducted a scoping on the 4th of February 2014. The contents of the scoping and potential of the business ambitions provided Agriterra with sufficient reasons to organise a company assessment to Rubanga in July 2014. Based on the results of the company assessment an action plan was established for the period November 2014 - June 2015. One of the major challenges for the society is the lack of adequate working capital to purchase farmers produce. It requires a lot of money to pay farmers for their coffee since most of them prefer cash payments. Rubanga also suffers from unreliable electricity from UMEME company to run their coffee and maize hulling factories. Furthermore storage space and capacity of board and management is a limiting factor in their development. As a results of the company assessment, it was agreed with board an management to focus on improving the coffee business. The main ambition is to shift from a coffee agent to a (Fairtrade) coffee exporter. The first action plan will be focused on setting the foundation for improvement. They key focus areas are: - To development of Bankable Business Plan - To access sufficient volumes of working capital - To improve the technical skills and experience of the management as well as the Board to implement the Business Plan - To improve the financial management within the organization