Our Story
Can We Lift Thousands of People Out of Poverty Through Responsible Oil Palm Production? That's What we are Trying to Do.
Liberia's Oil Palm Abundance
Globally, when most people hear of oil palm, they automatically think of multinational corporations clearing large swathes of land and destroying animal habitats to create oil palm plantations.
In Liberia, oil palm grows naturally in the wilds (dura variety), without anyone having to plant, due to the country's agro-ecological profile - high rainfall, moist soil, and tropical climate. In rural areas, palm trees are communally owned, and governed by local chiefs and elders.
As palm oil is the most widely consumed vegetable fat in Liberia, the majority of the country rely on about 220,000 smallholder households to produce palm oil for daily consumption as well as for semi-industrial purposes such as soap production.
Rural Processors Remain in Poverty
Sadly, most of Liberia's smallholder oil palm producing households (predominantly rural) remain in poverty. While there is no shortage of palm fruit supply, smallholders lack access to modern processing technologies.
As a result, over 35% of Liberia's palm fruit go un-harvested every year. During processing, smallholders suffer an additional 50% oil loss due to inefficient manual processing techniques.
Palm Kernels go to Waste, Too
After processing palm oil from the outer layer of the palm fruit, smallholders waste almost 100% of the palm kernels - the inner layer. Enclosed in hard coconut-like shells, palm kernels are even harder to de-shell and process into oil.
Most smallholder communities lack access to processing machinery and markets for their palm kernels. As a result, they largely throw away the palm kernels, further losing thousands of dollars in foregone income.
Smallholders stand to miss out significantly on development opportunities due to this technology gap.
We Bridge the Gap By Providing Access to Mini Oil Palm Mills
J-Palm Liberia works to empower smallholder oil palm processors in rural communities by providing access to modern, more efficient processing technologies. Our machines reduce processing time by 90% and extraction rates by 50-100%.
We manage and operate our mills in partnership with rural communities. Oil palm processors within a certain radius harvest palm fruit from communally-owned trees, and use our machines to process palm oil at no up-front cost. In return for using our machines, they pay us 15% of the oils produced.
Additionally, we provide an option to purchase palm oil from smallholders at going market rates, providing quick access to cash when needed.
We Have Also Created a Market for Previously Wasted Palm Kernels
In addition to creating access to more efficient palm oil processing mills, J-Palm Liberia has also expanded the market for palm kernels. We purchase hitherto wasted palm kernels from smallholders, and process the kernels into palm kernel oil.
We use the kernel oil to create a range of beauty and clean energy products, including Kernel Fresh, a multipurpose body moisturizer and hair conditioner. We are also working to create SuperCoal, which are smokeless and more energy-efficient charcoal briquettes made from palm kernel shells. We plan to position SuperCoal as a viable alternative to wood charcoal, so as to reduce deforestation resulting from wood charcoal production.
We are Helping to Lift Liberians Out of Poverty
We started this journey in 2013 with one overarching goal: to develop a sustainable model to create premium quality consumer goods for Liberians while simultaneously creating income-earning and employment opportunities for Liberians. Thus far, we have build a robust network of over 500 smallholder suppliers across 5 counties in Liberia, and have created over 500 jobs. On average, the smallholders with whom we work have seen their incomes grow by 250 percent.
We are incredibly proud and humbled to be able to create products that not only add value to our customers' lives, but also enhance the lives of hundreds of our suppliers and employees.
How the 40 Chances Fellowship Transformed Our Venture
Larger Factory Space, New Machines, Expanded Product Line
New, Larger Factory Space
A tripling of our factory floor
We have leased a 3-times larger factory space to accommodate increase in production volume.
More Efficient Processing Machines
12-fold increase in processing capacity
In 2014 when we won the 40 Chances Award, our processing capacity was at 500kg of palm kernels per hour. Now, our processing capacity is 6000kg per hour, due to investments in larger, more sophisticated machinery.
Expanded Product Mix
26-fold increase in value of palm kernel oil
In 2014, our key product was crude palm kernel oil, which trades for $633 per ton. We have integrated forward in the supply chain, by creating a range of health and beauty products based on Palm Kernel Oil - face and body soaps, moisturizers, lotions, facial scrubs, hair butters, and baby oils. As a result, we have increased the value of one ton of palm kernel oil to $16,667 - a 26-fold increase!
Rapid Revenue Growth
2900% revenue growth
In 2014, our revenues were less than $10,000. This year, we are on track to generate more than $300,000 in sales. Rapid revenue growth has enabled us to create more almost 500 additional new jobs, and improved benefits and amenities for our employees - including health insurance.
Other Opportunities
The 40 Chances Fellowship Positioned Us for Other Opportunities
African Entrepreneurship Award (AEA)
In 2016, we won first place award at the African Entrepreneurship Awards, out of more than 4000 applicants from across Africa and the Diaspora. The investments we made with the 40 Chances Fellowship positioned us to be very competitive at the AEA. With the 40 Chances Award, we established credibility and proof of concept in terms of social impact potential.
URL: https://africanentrepreneurshipaward.com/case-studies/changing-a-narrative-in-liberia/
JNJ Africa Innovation Challenge (AIC)
In 2017, we were one of three winners of the Johnson and Johnson Africa Innovation Challenge. In addition to financing, the JNJ AIC comes with incredible access to mentors across JNJ. Experts at the company have mentored us to improve our product packaging and branding, strengthen our supply chain, negotiate better deals with suppliers of packaging equipment, and developed our oils into new products such as lotions and soaps.
Equity Financing
The 40 Chances Fellowship and the other awards that followed provided seed capital that we needed to fully develop our business model, build up our supply chain, deepen our social impact, and grow the business to become profitable and cash-flow positive. At this stage, we are looking to scale our model across West Africa. Due to the strength of the business model, we have (for the first time) attracted equity financing from some high-profile investors. We are currently in the final due diligence stages of the investment process. The investors come with a wealth of industry experience, having built multiple global businesses with billions of dollars in revenues.
Connect With Us
We'd love to hear from you!
