Shea Global Value Chain

Solidity Trade has been invited to the Shea Global Value Chain this year in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso by one of the sponsoring company ECOCERT from the 25th to the 27th of March 2009.

In order to meet the different associations, certification agents and buyers of shea butter, Solidity Trade will assign its CEO. He will be able to answer the questions and meet the representatives of the different companies to improve some partnerships, close deals and discuss about the shea industry and its challenges, especially the economic and social impact of the shea industry on the lives of the women in poor rural areas of West Africa.

Ghana Internship Opportunity

In its search for development the company SEKAF GHANA is looking for an intern for 3-4 months. The company has built a strong reputation in the shea butter industry in West Africa and has set up a co-op creating jobs for poor women in rural areas. It is looking for a competent graduate school student willing to participate in the development of the company as a support for the business partners of the company.

www.sekafghana.com

Job Title: Administrative Assistant

Responsibilities:

• Email Handling information request (quotations, email enquires)
• Handling freight quotations for orders
• Manage company trade lead accounts like alibaba, google etc. Maintaining a list of these accounts
• Preparing correspondence
• Documenting customer/product testimonials
• Receiving visitors and arranging tours to Sheabutter village
• Scheduling staff meetings
• Train and supervise lower-level clerical staff
• Answer incoming calls & Screening Calls
• Making travel arrangements
• Preparing reports and financial data and report to directors
• Word processing, filing, and faxing, spreadsheets and presentation software usage
• Coordinates various office support services, including purchasing and facilities/warehouse management
• Compiling materials and maintaining employee database records
• Assisting with trade show and event planning
• Responsible for the logistical processing of customer orders, includes coordination with warehouse, sales staff, warehouse and shippers.
• Arranges shipment of requested sample items, goods or merchandise.
• Greets and directs all visitors, including vendors, clients, job candidates and customers.
• Ensures completion of paperwork, sign-in and security procedures. Handles special administrative projects,
• Sorts and routes incoming materials.
• Proactive communication with customers and client via telephone, e-mail, or regular mail
• Maintains solid customer relationships by handling their questions and concerns with speed and professionalism. Performs data entry and uses software programs.

Qualifications:
Requires strong computer and internet research skills. Also calls for flexibility, excellent interpersonal skills, project coordination experience, and the ability to work well with all levels of internal management and staff, as well as outside clients and vendors. Possesses advanced computer skills along with the ability to train others on system usage. A premium paid for specific industry or market experience. Extensive software skills are required, as well as Internet research abilities and strong communication skills.

Location: Tamale, Ghana
Food, transportation and accomodation cost is taken care by the company SEKAF GHANA.

To apply for this opportunity, please send your resume and contact phone number to: contact [at] soliditytrade [dot] com

Shea 2009 to be held in Burkina Faso

Within 4 years the Shea industry has effectively doubled in size, which is great news for the West African markets. To address this growth, USAID’s West Africa Trade Hub is holding a conference in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso at the end of March to explore investment opportunities and discuss challenges and strategies for this growing market.

To learn more about the Shea 2009 conference, please visit:
www.globalshea.org

Solidity Trade chooses Ecocert as an organic certification partner for the unrefined shea butter

National Organic Program - United States Department of Agriculture

Solidity Trade has recently met the representatives of ECOCERT in France to discuss the opportunity of working together in Ghana to certify that the production of unrefined shea butter in the Shea Butter Village is 100% organic.

Solidity Trade will fully finance the organic certification of the Shea Butter Village in order to comply with the National Organic Program from the United States Department of Agriculture. This label will show the effort of Solidity Trade to support organic agriculture as there is an increasingly demand for organic unrefined shea butter in the US market as well as in the rest of the world. This market-oriented approach in the long run will bring new market opportunities and create more jobs for the women at the Shea Butter Village.

To know more about this company:

ECOCERT is an organic certification organization, founded in France in 1991. It is based in Europe but conducts inspections in over 80 countries, making it one of the largest organic certification organizations in the world.

ECOCERT’s co-founder and CEO is William Vidal. It began as a partnership between European nations, but has gradually expanded to many other nations around the world. The company’s French headquarters are located in L’Isle Jourdain, Gers, France, and its ECOCERT INTERNATIONAL division is based in Northeim, Germany.

ECOCERT primarily certifies food and food products, but also certifies cosmetics, detergents, perfumes, and textiles. The company inspects about 70% of the organic food industry in France and about 30% worldwide.

Source : www.ecocert.com

Introducing Solidity Trade

Welcome to the official blog of Solidity Trade:

This blog is aimed at keeping you informed on news concerning our company, our work and the progress we are making in developing Africa with a market-oriented approach.

Solidity Trade has the mission to source West African commodities and secure the logistics to build a solid relationship with international buyers. Our purpose is to help West African producers and their communities to market and sell their raw materials while meeting international standards of quality.

In the spirit of this mission, company founders Lam Tran and Fabien Nervais teamed to work on a project aimed at developing a product inherent to the African landscape — Ghanaian unrefined shea butter. Unrefined shea butter is a useful product that has several applications in cooking, hair, and skin care.

Increasingly, international companies are incorporating shea butter into their products such as shampoo, soaps, or lotions. Shea butter has tremendous potential for growth, however, this potential hasn’t adequately been addressed through Africa. The lack of availability in capital and the difficulty to access international markets haven’t allowed local African businesses to grow to their full potential and go beyond their own local market in a profitable way.

Based on this fact, Solidity Trade has developed a new business model that serves a dual purpose:

1. Creating jobs in poor areas to alleviate poverty
2. Lifting up the economic barriers to give access to international markets

For more information on an example company we have helped to market unrefined shea butter in the Northern America, please download the following PDF: Unrefined Shea Butter