EU-EAC Market Access Upgrade Programme - MARKUP

<p>This training follows the structure of the European Standard Contract for Coffee (ESCC) and how it affects business planning and operations from an SME perspective. That is, how a trader should be in a clear position to negotiate contract terms based on the businesses' capabilities to meet contract obligations in order to minimise financial impacts and maximise reputation and buyer relationships. Operations personnel within the business must also plan ahead and react to ensure contract terms are met, such as availability, quality weights, documentation and certifications, and more. Phase one was a series of webinars that took place in October 2021.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Phase two is a three-days workshop held from 29 March - &nbsp;1 April in Dar es Salaam, which seeks to reinforce the previous lessons learnt through practical exercises that follow the training plan below:&nbsp;</strong></p><ul><li><strong>Contract terms and implications for business operations:</strong>&nbsp;Discussion of the following terms, their meaning, and how the business must prepare in advance of loading and shipping as well as how to comply to requirements.</li><li><strong>Contract terms and negotiation:&nbsp;</strong>Communicating the ins and outs of how to negotiate a contract based on the firm's capacities to&nbsp;comply and deliver.&nbsp;</li><li><strong>Preparation for Export:&nbsp;</strong>Covering essentially the container stuffing to shipment phase or immediate preparation beforehand.</li></ul><p><strong>The workshop ends with a field visit to a logistics company and a port of export enabling SMEs understand all preparations needed prior to shipment.</strong></p>

<p>This training follows the structure of the European Standard Contract for Coffee (ESCC) and how it affects business planning and operations from an SME perspective. That is, how a trader should be in a clear position to negotiate contract terms based on the businessess' capabilities to meet contract obligations in order to minimise financial impacts and maximise reputation and buyer relationships. Operations personnel within the business must also plan ahead and react to ensure contract terms are met, such as availability, quality weights, documentation and certifications, and more. Phase one was a series of webinars that took place in October 2021.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Phase two is a three-days workshop held from 6-8 April in Nairobi, which seeks to reinforce the previous lessons learnt through practical exercises that follow the training plan below:&nbsp;</strong></p><ul><li><strong>Contract terms and implications for business operations:</strong>&nbsp;Discussion of the following terms, their meaning, and how the business must prepare in advance of loading and shipping as well as how to comply to requirements.</li><li><strong>Contract terms and negotiation:&nbsp;</strong>Communicating the ins and outs of how to negotiate a contract based on the firm's capacities to&nbsp;comply and deliver.&nbsp;</li><li><strong>Preparation for Export:&nbsp;</strong>Covering essentially the container stuffing to shipment phase or immediate preparation beforehand.</li></ul><p><strong>The workshop ends with a field visit to a logistics company and a port of export enabling SMEs understand all preparations needed prior to shipment.</strong></p>

<p>Coffee is a long-standing commodity contributing to the export earnings of&nbsp;East African countries and remains an integral sector for employment for actors along its value chain. However, global coffee prices remain stubbornly low due to an oversupply of mainstream coffee from competing countries, meaning that suppliers of specialty coffee are in a better position to fetch higher prices for premium and single-origin coffees.&nbsp;</p><p>MARKUP supports coffee SMEs and sector professionals via the delivery of specialist vocational courses in partnership with Authorised SCA Trainers (ASTs) from the Specialty Coffee Association.</p><p>The training on Sensory Skills and Green Coffee are accredited programmes that are recognized by coffee industry leaders and the global coffee community, and as such, provides coffee company owners, managers, quality controllers, coffee traders, roasters, café owners, baristas, the perfect platform to increase their skills sets and abilities in evaluating and managing high quality coffee for sales and export markets.</p><p><strong>At the Professional Level, the training tailored knowledge and skills adoption for coffee professionals pursuing a specialist knowledge on the following areas:</strong></p><ul><li>&nbsp;Essentials of sensory evaluation for green coffee;<br>&nbsp;</li><li>Perception of coffee's natural characteristics when evaluating coffees;&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;</li><li>Identification of specialty coffee against conventional coffee grades that can be useful for product diversification and business prospects;<br>&nbsp;</li><li>Practical skills on how to run a cupping session for prospective buyers, and how to apply sensory skills, techniques, and specialized equipment in improving sales;<br>&nbsp;</li><li>Green Coffee and its fundamental concepts and principles of production, harvest, processing, grading, shipping, storage, and arrival at a roaster;<br>&nbsp;</li><li>Lessons on coffee contracts and portfolio management tied up the module.</li></ul><p>Outcome of the training is to enhance competitiveness of coffee businesses in specialty coffee market segments. &nbsp;</p>