LIONESS WEEKENDER COVER STORY
Accite Holdings, delivering environmentally and socially responsible food security models to Africa
Accite Holdings LLC is a boutique business development and mission-driven investment firm focused on technology-led agriculture and food security projects in growth markets, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa. Accite’s investment philosophy brings together proven technologies with a world-class team and localized business models to create pioneering businesses. For the past nine years, Accite has focused on developing socially responsible agriculture and food businesses including fresh produce and plant-based protein. Accite has operations in Botswana, South Africa, Mauritius and Kenya and continuing to grow into east and west Africa. By deploying technology and products that protect the environment and building businesses with local youth leaders at the forefront, Accite’s approach is anchored to 11 of the 17 Millennium Sustainable Development Goals.
Lionesses of Africa spoke to the impact driven Michelle Adelman this month to learn more about how it is possible to positively improve the region’s food security through a new technology model.
What inspired you to start your company?
I spent the first 25 years of my career as a global Managing Director at Accenture where I had an amazing career working around the world with great people and leading corporate clients. The entrepreneurial bug really bit when I was recruited away to lead the launch of a new health-care start-up where we took a company from concept to launch in 18-months. Having worked in the non-profit sector in Africa for a number of years, I was constantly seeing problems but saying "but there is technology to fix that!" In my non-profit work with women and vulnerable children, I saw first-hand how the lack of economic diversification and high youth unemployment was creating a continuous cycle of poverty. I finally decided to put my money where my mouth was and take the leap to setting up my own firm to starting incubating and building businesses.
Why should anyone use your service or product?
We take leading technologies and implement them in a very localized way in the African context. Accite’s flagship, Go Fresh! an award-winning Botswana-based agricultural operation, utilizes the latest greenhouse and hydroponic technology to locally grow Grade-1 vegetables consistently, year-round. The business has created 85 skilled and unskilled jobs by deploying best-in-class technology with an ISO9001 compliant quality management system and operating model that has been developed and proven over the last five years (www.gofresh.farm). GoFresh! Is currently in the process of being divested to local Batswana investors, fulfilling the purpose of Accite, to build sustainable food businesses to be able to transition them to local entrepreneurs.
Our plant-based food distribution business, Infinite Foods (www.infinitefoods.com), named the 2020 Best Plant-Based Food Business by the World Plant-Based Awards, brings category leading plant-based brands like Beyond Meat and Oatly to African consumers through local retail, hospitality and eCommerce channels. The Infinite Foods team has pioneered a turn-key approach to give leading international brands low risk entry into the African market and African consumers.
Finally, our, third company, Crossover Quality Meats (www.crossovermeats.com) is a food technology company that is making ground meat that is more socially responsible and less environmentally harmful. In all of our companies, our commitment to youth-led leadership teams and development is our key focus and keeps us grounded.
Tell us a little about your team
We have a core leadership team that works across the businesses. Myself, together with my COO (Neil Taylor) and Group Marketing Director (Caitlin Pereira) provide the foundation with international business expertise and pan-African experience. Each of the companies is really run on a day-to-day basis by a diverse group of talented individuals with a focus on youth-leadership. In Botswana, for example, our entire leadership team from HR, finance and growing operations are Botswana College of Agriculture graduates or certificate holders. In South Africa, we have established a partnership with Invictus Education to work with and hire graduates from their program. Our corporate commitment to hire and develop youth leaders is at the core of everything we do.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And, do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
Not at all! My parents were teachers and my grand-parents were dairy farmers. I was always encouraged to “get a job” and “it’s always better to find a new job while you have a job”. The idea I would strike out on my own, in Africa, none the less, was more than a foreign idea. Honestly, I just woke up one day and decided it was time to give back. I wanted to take my experience and talent and put it to work for myself and help young people become leaders.
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
Accite’s businesses create a platform to deliver affordable, nutritious, environmentally sensible food to Africa in a socially responsible model. Our aspiration is to use new food and agriculture technology as a catalyst to solve some of Africa’s most pressing social issues like malnutrition and land reform. In the next two years we have some very ambitious goals including developing a business incubator for local plant-based food brands, tackling last-mile cold chain distribution (including in informal markets), manufacturing international plant-based brands in Africa and working with farmers to grow all of the inputs in Africa for Africa.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
Besides proving people wrong? Seriously, there is nothing better than seeing in real life the impact that you are making in your community. I still get a heart-felt feeling when I see our Go Fresh! delivery van around town, a beautiful salad on the table, the Beyond Burger on a menu or the smiles of my team, proudly in their uniforms as they are winning “Farmer of the Year” or “Best Plant-Based Business” awards.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
It would be the same advice I would give a man. I think people have to think really hard about whether they want to be an entrepreneur. It’s not nearly as sexy as it sounds – it’s hard work, risky and lonely. I often say “everybody can be entrepreneurial, but not everyone can be an entrepreneur”.
I think aspiring entrepreneurs need to really evaluate whether they have the stomach and financial resources to take a risk on their own, recognizing that nine out of ten businesses fail. The good news is, you don’t have to be starting your own business to be entrepreneurial. You can be entrepreneurial within your job or in your community organizations. I’ve never turned down someone at the office who came to me and said “I’d really like to stretch myself – and I’d like to take on this special project. Give me a shot”.
Specifically, for women, you simply have to be fearless. Whatever biases you have about women or yourself about what you can or cannot do, you won’t have any time for. So just put them aside before you get started!
To find out more about Accite Holdings, visit the company’s website https://www.acciteholdings.com
