CALD INTERNATIONAL

CALD Enterprise promotes local and International trade, business, investment and development through global partnerships and use of use of broadband internet and Wi-Fi hotspot technologies.

---

Top Cup Coffee

Top cup Coffee is a CALD Enterprise Brand/Trade mark that facilitates coffee fair trade from Kenya through use of technology based platforms.

Top Cup Coffee Project in Kenya and U.S

CALD Enterprise is developing a collaborative coffee project that will help smallholder coffee farmers in Kenya link with Coffee Research Institute's information and training centers through the existing coffee cooperative societies and factories using broadband internet and Wi-Fi hotpot technologies that will enable access and flow of information and training on improved varieties, better growing practices, value addition, financial credit and set up a direct coffee exchange fair trade market portal for local and international coffee markets in Kenya, U.S and other parts of the world.

---

Importance of Coffee in Kenya

We recognize the importance and impact of the Kenyan coffee cooperative sub-sector on economic activity in terms of income generation, employment creation, foreign exchange earnings and tax revenue. Over the years, the economic performance of coffee has had repercussions on all spheres of life, both upstream affecting farm input suppliers and downstream the transport sector; on savings and investment intermediation; consumption of goods; and households’ ability to pay for education, health and other services. Even politics at all levels cannot ignore or be ignored by coffee, not least in the race for well-paying jobs, sinecures, and contracts in the various institutions that serve as gravy trains in the coffee sector cash cow.

Problem we are addressing

Today, the Kenyan coffee sub-sector is underperforming due to lack of creative and innovative ideas to share knowledge and information on best practices and access to reliable and direct Fairtrade markets, this is caused majority of family’s average household incomes to drop to the international poverty line and as well affecting education and health standards especially in the Kenyan coffee growing communities.

The Kenyan coffee sub-sector is manifested in the decline of export earnings from US$500 million in the 1990's to less than US$ 150 million in 2015. This is attributable to low productivity of 2 Kg's per coffee tree against a potential of 30 Kg's per tree on average, uprooting of coffee trees, high cost of inputs especially fertilizer and pesticides, limited credit access and poor institutional governance weakness. Moreover, the existing laws that govern coffee value chain have not been realigned with the Constitution of Kenya 2010 and other laws.

• Lack of modern information and communication technology structures -
  

  Coffee cooperatives societies/SACCO’s lack the modern technology information, communication and training structure that link farmers with best practices from research institutes through their cooperatives that will increase production, address climate change issues and add value in processing.

• Lack of access to direct domestic and global markets – Exchange Market portal
  

  Smallholders coffee farmers in Kenya are not allowed to market their coffee, and therefore do not know the opportunities in the market. Kenya has the natural advantage of winning in the specialty coffee segment, given the premium prices it attracts, the country has not invested in positioning itself in this segment.

• Lack of Financial Inclusion
  

  Smallholder coffee farmers live in rural Kenya, they don’t have reliable access to the modern technology savings and credit services, they must travel to the nearest town or city to access them. Broadband Internet and WIFI hotspot will the savings and credit cooperatives to bring these services close to the smallholder farmer and as well enable to penetrate in remote rural communities where these services are not available.