Solidity Trade Partners with Sekaf Ghana LTD
Below is a press release on the partnership between Solidity Trade and Sekaf.
Sekaf Ghana LTD, a Ghanaian company specializing in production of organic and conventional shea butter and manufacturing of the shea product line, Tama, has announced the inception of a long-term business partnership with Solidity Trade. Solidity Trade is a US-based marketing and venture capital firm working with various institutions to secure trade relationships with West African commodities, particularly in the agro-sector. The formal collaboration represents a seamless convergence of the companies’ paralleling missions to address poverty in West Africa with market orientated solutions that develop the creative entrepreneurial capacities of the local people and their economies. While enabling Sekaf to primarily occupy in its core operations, the production of a cosmetic grade shea butter and development of shea based beauty and personal care products, Solidity Trade acts as the effective marketing force needed to give the company its global reach into the most competitive of markets.
Managing director of Sekaf, Senyo Kpelly, started negotiations with Solidity Trade’s CEO, Lam Tran, in 2008 under a mutual recognition of the critical role of the shea industry in bringing about profitable and responsible development to the region. The two met again while presenting at the International Shea Conference held in Ouagadougou earlier this year and finally discussed the formalization of a long term partnership in March 2009. A Memorandum of Understanding was therefor signed in March 2009 signifying a contractual relationship for coordination of their professional efforts. The quantifiable benefits of this partnership are evident, where Sekaf’s shea butter exports have increased threefold in this time.
On the topic of partnership, Sekaf’s Senyo Kpelly says, “This is a strategic move on the part of Sekaf to expand our operations originating at the community level, create more jobs and increase our production capacities to be more competitive in the global marketplace. Working with Solidity Trade is a perfectly complimentary match to realize our future growth. We aim to be an industry leader that can help educate the consumer base on issue of shea quality, a factor we believe is critical in defining the future of Africa’s shea butter industry”.
Mr. Tran of Solidity Trade similarly recognizes the significance of this relationship in the global shea butter industry and the potential impact it can have on west African economies. His statement regarding the partnership with Sekaf is below:
“By linking the international markets with West African producers, SEKAF revealed to be an excellent source in the industry of shea butter and allows Solidity Trade to change the image of the West Africa by providing top notch quality shea butter to the world. The growth over the last year has been tremendous. The skills that we brought to SEKAF was a perfect match with Solidity Trade in terms of cooperation among the decision makers. This match is critical in reshaping the shea butter industry and create more jobs every year and reduce the poverty in the rural areas of West Africa.”
The partnership is indeed an ambitious step forward for Sekaf and Solidity Trade, and a hopeful representation for the forward progression of the larger shea industry itself.
