Startup Story

Emi-Beth Aku Quantson is the Founder, CEO and Chief Caffeination Officer at Kawa Moka Coffee Company, Ghana's leading social enterprise coffee company and roaster, where she drives investment and growth. She has raised over $200,000 in debt and equity investments; created over 250 jobs in coffee through farmer partnerships and employment of marginalized groups; and established Accra's largest roastery, supplying major supermarkets and cafes across the country and internationally. Emi-Beth has been recognized by the President of the Republic of Ghana, President Akuffo Addo. Prior to founding Kawa Moka in 2015, Emi-Beth worked as a tax consultant and transfer pricing expert at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Ghana and Kenya.

Lionesses of Africa spoke to Emi-Beth Aku Quantson about her fascinating impact-driven journey, and her future ambitions for her business and the coffee sector in Ghana as a whole.

What does your company do?

The story of coffee started in Africa, and now it's returned home to Ghana through Kawa Moka. Kawa Moka tells the story of Ghana’s history with cacao intertwined with our rich coffee flavours. Kawa being an Arabic word that translates to coffee; "the wine of the bean”, Moka being a seaport city in Yemen, ironically known for being coffee's gateway to Europe. Native Robusta coffee originated in Central and West Africa and has been growing in Leklebi since the 1930s. Growing amongst cacao trees, plantain, and food crops, our coffee produces complex notes wrapped up in chocolate, fruit and nuts. We specialize in small-batch, artisan-roasted specialty coffee, grown sustainably by over 70 Indigenous women small-farm owners and a wider community of 150 farmers in coffee enclaves in the Volta Region. At Kawa Moka, we understand that behind every great cup of coffee, there is a careful planting, harvesting, roasting and brewing process. Our passion is to share that expertise with you, to ensure you drink only the highest quality coffee every time. Our brand promises our coffee will taste good and do good. Our work at Kawa Moka addresses a number of SDG’s particularly, Goals 1, 2, 5, 8, 9, and 11.

“It was apparent that the need for Africans to begin drinking their own coffee, and for value to be added in country, were persistent problems that could be tackled through my company - and boy have we established that footprint!”

What inspired you to start your company?

I saw the coffee revolution happen in East Africa, which was traditionally a tea drinking country, with the rise of Nairobi Java House and other avenues for drinking coffee. I also saw how Southern and Northern Africa imbibed the drink and foresaw that the time for West Africa was close. I got involved in coffee because of my love for coffee spaces - cafes as watering holes for innovation and as spaces where you can have random conversations with strangers that lead to lifelong friendships and perhaps even forming a business (or going on a rally). Coffee for me is a connector, an Inspirer, and while my dream began with wanting to establish cafes all over Africa, once I began it was obvious that the larger problem of farmers being encouraged to diversify their crops and reliance on cocoa (in Ghana) and having access to market was a larger calling with greater impact on the last mile. It was also apparent that the need for Africans to begin drinking their own coffee, and for value to be added in country, were persistent problems that could be tackled through my company - and boy have we established that footprint!

Why should anyone use your service or product?

Our tag line is "a different cup". Reason being from the get go we wanted the company to be different - in the way we hire, in the way we train, in the green footprint we would leave, and in our resilience in a changing business landscape. Before we began, no one knew there was coffee from Ghana - we have raised the bar on the quality and quantity of coffee from Ghana, putting Ghana on the map and positioning it as an origin of interest for supply. Second, we roast 100% coffee from Ghana directly adding to our economy by creating jobs and employing the youth. Finally, we infuse flavours that are unique to West Africa in our coffee, this includes prekese, dawadawa, ginger and moringa, boosting the health benefits of an already healthy drink. We are also immersed in the Green Economy. Our roastery is powered 100% by solar and we are in the process of importing a vortex which reduces carbon emissions from roasting by cleaning and recycling the CO2 into nitrogen rich water which is great for watering plants. We also create skin care from our waste products, and in the short to medium term we expect for this function to be carried out by our women farmers to give them an additional source of income, with support in branding and packaging.

“At our roastery we continue to challenge women to take on roles that are not traditionally female, for example, an accountant or a female barista or roaster. We continue to champion the female agenda.”

Tell us a little about your team

At Kawa Moka, our approach is to purposefully include women in the value chain. This begins in the farm and ends in our cafe. At our farms, we purposefully work with women farmers to source our coffee, we began with 6 women and have expanded that network to over 70 women across 3 coffee enclaves in the Volta Region. At our cafes, we also employ ladies from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and upskill them. At our roastery we continue to challenge women to take on roles that are not traditionally female, for example, an accountant or a female barista or roaster. We continue to champion the female agenda. Our team is diverse, energized, and committed to the mission and vision of Kawa Moka. By adopting this approach we hope to provide avenues for women in particular to be more economically stable, have access to land for farming, and learn a skill which they can fall back on at any point in their career.

Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?

My parents are entrepreneurs, though not in the traditional sense. My dad is an agronomist who went on start a hotel and my mum is a lawyer who entered in private practice very early and has many wins under her belt. I learnt resilience, innovation and technique from them both and they continue to be my biggest cheerleaders. I also had the privilege of attending Ashesi University, which is a first-of-its-kind university in Ghana that follows the American liberal arts core curriculum and intentionally creates platforms for the next ethical, entrepreneurial leaders of Africa. I started my first coffee shop while on campus (in my final year) and after 6 years working with PwC, earning my chartered accountancy in 2 years and rapidly climbing up the corporate ladder, I return to begin what we now all know as Kawa Moka. Then just a pipe dream - now a rapidly growing reality.

What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?

Our immediate next step is to establish a green warehouse and processing site for our "raw coffee". We expect that design and architecture to utilize friendly material, boast lots of windows for natural light, utilize solar, and just generally be an environmentally friendly and sustainable building. This step is key to our ambition to be West Africa's largest and greenest roastery and coffee business and will directly equip us to meet orders as we work on global expansion and entry into new markets outside of Ghana. We launched our direct sales to the US via our new e-commerce site and recently also released new packaging that is environmentally friendly and even more visually appealing.

“Our tag line is "a different cup". Reason being from the get go we wanted the company to be different - in the way we hire, in the way we train, in the green footprint we would leave, and in our resilience in a changing business landscape.”

What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?

Creating something from basically an idea. Now it is a tangible product, impacting farmer lives, impacting my own life and inspiring generations. It’s humbling. I hope that one day we will be able to take our place in the giants of industry having built a sustainable, green business that continues to include women and that survives beyond me, as the founder.

What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?

Pay attention to the money. Keep accounts. Be sure to collect your money (don't be shy) and learn to identify people who will mention your name and lift you up in rooms where you are not even present.

Contact or follow Kawa Moka Coffee Company

EMAIL emi-beth@kawamoka.com

Why LoA loves it…

There is inspiration to be found in every element of Emi-Beth Aku Quantson’s story as the Founder, CEO and Chief Caffeination Officer at Kawa Moka Coffee Company, Ghana's leading social enterprise coffee company and roaster. She is proof positive of the impact that one woman entrepreneur can make when a market opportunity combines with a passion for making an impact in the sector and on the lives of those working in it. Her passion for coffee is now creating jobs, empowering women through upskilling and career experience, and providing opportunities for local farmers to be part of the agri-business value chain impact. This is a great story that will inspire others to follow Emi-Beth’s example and be the change they want to see in their own countries and industry sectors. — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo, Lionesses of Africa