With the humongous wealth potentials hidden in the shea industry, more Nigerian women are beginning to buy into the shea tree farming, as a means of escape from poverty. However, there are challenges to be surmounted. Yetunde Oladeinde of The Nation, who interacted with stakeholders, explores.

Shea butter is a popular moisturiser among women. A source of beauty for cosmetics as well as a huge income earner for rural women.

According to experts, over 16 million women are involved in the processing of shea butter across the sub-Saharan Africa with an estimated 1.84 billion shea trees.

Despite the health hazards and cumbersome conditions under which the women work to export over 500,000 tonnes per year, revenue and export in the past 13 years has tripled.

Experts have however, also noted that there is a lot more to be explored. The big question is: could this be because it is mostly driven by women.

Mobola Sagoe, CEO, Shea Origins goes down memory lane to talk about the challenges, opportunities and some of the interventions carried out.

“The focus should be, how we can move forward in the Shea sector using technology to achieve success, especially in the export market. As a manufacturer of Shea butter, we have a group of women who are moving in the same direction when it comes to export. Over the years, we have seen the different challenges and till date there are still quite a few challenges, knowing very well that we have so many products in Nigeria”.

A woman displaying Shea Butter

Sagoe goes on to talk about branding and packaging for the products. “Most of the brands are as good as global brands but the problems is packaging. We need to move to the next level using technology. Not just the machines but the different apps that you can also use to generate income.”

Technology, she opines, is the way to go. “If you don’t get into it, then you can’t take your products far.  Tech is to educate you about the opportunities, it is the tool needed to move forward. The project that we have done in the past few months have helped to transform lives, especially in the rural areas. The rural women can be your only source of supply and if they are not trained, nothing is going to happen.  We have gotten to the level now where we can work with what we have and sell on the platforms.”

Their capacity, Sagoe added, has also witnessed tremendous improvement and growth.  “We have moved those women used to producing say 10 tonnes to producing up to 200 tonnes as a cluster.”

In addition, Sagoe and her team have been able to get them to team up as organisations, and give them proper training on the job.

Women processing Shea Butter

“This project has really taken a lot of rural women to the next level and we the manufacturers of the finished products now have access to quality butters. Technology is important to enhance the work  of the rural women. We don’t see their challenges. You don’t know the different things that they go through on a daily basis”.

Sagoe added: “When we started, very few people knew about Shea but the quality of the butter was not good enough.  The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) partnered with us and set up centres in Taraba, Kebbi, Niger, Oyo and Kwara state. This processing centres have transformed shea butter production. But we still have a long way to go. As long as we keep moving, technology would  take us to the next level where we can compete favourably with international brands”.

Sagoe continued: “They do not have knowledge at all. If they know what has been done, they would have taken it to another level a long time ago. Today, there is so much going on in Nigeria and people don’t know which one to hold onto. So for that reason, I cannot blame the government. What I can blame them for is that they need to seek knowledge about the quality of what we have in Nigeria”.

This, she stressed, is important not only in shea but every single commodity because of export.

“How can you talk about export, when you have so many things that you can import here in Africa. Then you don’t know the volume, you don’t even know the capacity”.

The employment opportunities in the sector have not been explored. “To be honest with you, I cannot give you a specific figure. What I know for sure is that if we have 21 states producing shea butter and we have trees in these states, then you can begin to imagine the multiplier effects.  You can imagine if all those states are empowered by mini factories, production centers in the different villages or different local government. That alone can generate a lot of income and remove poverty from that environment”.

She added that making use of solar energy and other tools had helped to improve the capacity of the women in different ways. “Recently, we started talking about putting solar system for electricity in Shaki, Oyo State, because we have major issues when it comes to electricity. We were not able to access the generator, and while it continues to pollute the environment, we started looking for solutions via solar”.

In 2016, Sagoe and her team introduced a cook stove to the women. “This cook stove is regenerating technique, where you are able to reduce emission of free radicals. We are able to reduce the firewood that they use for cooking. You are able to reduce that smoke that causes cancer. So, you eliminate that with the cook stove. We were able to give out these cook stoves to a thousand women at the time and we still do it once in a while”.

To buttress her point, Sagoe explained that they usually want the women that they have worked with to understand that it is not just about you giving back to the society, they must also contribute their quota.

“We also want these women to understand that it is not about having free gifts. Now, it is no more free but we are still not charging. What we do is that when you have done something that we are able to say thank you, we use that as an opportunity to give it as a gift”.

Next, she talked about financial support using the cooperative society. “We have the cooperative that has moved from where they used to be to a better level by pushing and also taking the training to another level”.

Shea as substitute for chemical products

One thing that Sagoe is also passionate about is the need to use natural products like shea for beauty instead of chemicals which comes with a number of side effects. “For someone who has also been in the beauty sector for 38 years, I don’t believe in those things. I believe in all natural and at the same time why they do those things is that everybody wants to look good. But nobody wants to walk the walk. So, fast track is what they like. But at the end of the day, you crash land. When something is supposed to live a lifespan of 10 decades and then you want it to do 20 immediately.

“Definitely, there is going to be some damage somewhere. This is where cancer comes in for some people. You g for things like regenerating your skin. Or you can decide to cut part of your skin to do this and that. It has to come out somewhere else. God created you to be in a particular way, He has also made all things available. We heard that Cleopatra, one of the most beautiful women used shea butter. She didn’t go out looking for hydroquinone or whatever. They have been using all these natural products since the olden days. So, why are we not following that?”.

For Patrick Gouka, an expert from the Netherlands, who has been with CBI since 2006, it is important to encourage the stakeholders to maximise the opportunities in the sector.

“What we do is to support local SME supporters to get credit to do business in European markets. We do that in potential export sectors and one of this sectors is the shea sector. We noticed that there is an increase in demand for this ingredient used for cosmetics in the European market”.

Gouka goes on to talk about the opportunities in the cosmetics industry.  “We are already working with 12 selected exporting companies and we have helped majority of them to European markets”.

Now you want to know how much Nigeria can get yearly in terms of foreign investment and how it can be properly harnessed.

“I don’t know that by heart but we think it is quite considerable. Up till now, Nigeria  cannot supply  the  quantity that is demanded in the European market.”.

Next Gouka talked about some of the challenges encountered.  “These include quality and what is required for European markets. It is not just about delivery of the products but doing it in a sustainable way.  Sustainable issues are high on the agenda of European clients, gender, employment and drawing attention to climate issues. We try to focus on youths as a target group so that they can find employment in the sector.

Gouka believes that things would get better when all hands are on deck in the sector. “I think one of the main points in the shea sector is getting the public and private sectors working together; create opportunities and trust each other. We have been working on branding as well. It is also important to link up with the buyers, understand the local, financial and legal requirements for the European markets “.

And now Peter Hurst who has worked on different projects for Africa takes you into the focus and the supporting agencies. “What spurred me is the potential. It is a product which is wanted everywhere. Sadly, Nigeria is  not performing. Nigeria has the largest crops of sheanuts in the 21 countries.  We are focused on export development “.

What exactly is the problem you ask?

“There hasn’t been enough investment in processing. That is why we are going to Ghana. In so many ways, Ghana has taken the lead justifiably in foreign investments. We need to take our place and maximise the potentials available “.

Who should invest and how?

Hurst responds this way: “It should be both the public and private sector; particularly some of the large buyers. They have been a bit reluctant to invest in Nigeria and they have got investment in Ghana. We are in a process of transformation and over the next years, we will be measuring the impact of what we are doing “.

Hurst continued: “There are 21 countries below the Sahara where shea is grown and 16 million women are involved in that process. The women are dominant. But they get the worst benefits because they are not rewarded for their efforts”.

Managing Director of SecureID, Kofo Akingkugbe, believes that a collaborative approach will help to strengthen the projects and bring about the required changes.  “Every entrepreneur’s journey starts with a dream. There are four pillars that have defined my entrepreneurship journey. Entrepreneurship, the spirit of enterprise, is required to ensure that the industry becomes the desired industry. I have a dream and that dream has taken roots today. The dream was to substitute import and to actually produce this smart cards locally. That dream is now a huge factory in Isolo with staff strength of over 500 people and exported to 21 countries across Africa”.

Cornelius Karkraba of the Global Shea Alliance, which was established in 2011 also gave an overview of the shea sector.

“Our focus includes industry promotion, sustainability and maintaining standards. We have 1.84 billion she trees existing currently. Nigeria, Mali and Burkina Faso are the largest producers and it boast of 85 per cent cocoa butter equivalent. There has been $125 million sustainability investment pumped in from 2018 till date”.

He added: “The alliance and USAID works with 12 partners in Nigeria. There are 43 warehouses and 34,541 women reached distributing about 17,500 shea seedlings in the past two years. There is a resilient agro forestry shea farm model and three francophone countries have adopted the model based on the success stories”.

Transporting the product is also a big challenge with bad roads and poor infrastructure. Mrs. Elizabeth Olowofila, Managing Director of Think Bikes takes you through the options available on how to improve mobility in the sector.

“The opportunities are many but we need to network, improve quality control as well as data decision via analysis. The present limitations are linked to infrastructure and it is important to give this the attention required”.

She stressed that Think Bikes has helped to reduce the challenges for the women. “We are exploring innovative solutions that are affordable. The bikes enhance mobility and logistics in shea processing. It is electric, eco-friendly, efficient and enhance profitability. It is faster for delivery and there is a 95 per cent reduction on maintenance. We target waste recyclers and small farm holders.” (NATION)