Building cocoa trade from the ground up

In this Business Insights Series, I sat down with Divine Mbah, the founder of Invest Agriculture Export, a startup cocoa trading company based in Cameroon. Divine’s journey is rooted in something powerful: a desire to make a difference not just for himself, but for his community and beyond.

With a background in cocoa farming and a deep understanding of local agricultural practices, Divine has built a vast network of farmers and cooperatives across thousands of villages. His company focuses on sourcing, processing, and exporting high-quality cocoa beans to international markets. 

We explored the nature of Cocoa agriculture and discussed sourcing strategies, operations, pricing models, and the bigger vision for growth.

From Local Roots to Global Goals

Divine’s relationship with cocoa is personal and goes back to childhood. He grew up in a cocoa-producing region, watching the rhythms of planting, harvesting, and selling play out every season. 

Over the years, those early memories formed a blueprint for his entrepreneurial path. He has always wanted to create something that would uplift his community while connecting local resources with international opportunity. 

When I asked why he started this journey, he said, “I decided that I would create something that would impact my world, that would transform not only my community, but the world.”

What struck me immediately was that this is not a casual business. Divine sees cocoa trading as a serious path for change and development. He views it as a vehicle not only for personal success but also for community empowerment and long-term economic development. 

His focus is on connecting the thousands of small farmers in his region with the right partners, the right buyers, and the right systems. He’s already taking concrete steps in that direction.

“We have over thousands of villages in our area producing cocoa… I have a team of people that I know  are growing cocoa and we can together supply cocoa beans in volume.”

Local sourcing strength is hard to come by. Divine has cultivated relationships in his community in order to mobilize grassroots networks quickly. Currently, they can supply between 300 and 500 tons of cocoa per season. Each bean is dried, processed to meet the 8% moisture export standard, and packed into 60 kg jute bags. 

The season runs from September through March. Sourcing from remote areas allows for better price margins due to lower farm gate pricing. The infrastructure may be basic, but the vision behind it is anything but.

When Systems Matter More Than Volume

Divine has access to cocoa. What he needs is a framework that supports reliability, quality control, and trust, qualities that matter deeply in international trade. 

We talked about what happens after the cocoa is harvested: the drying process, packaging protocols, sorting procedures, quality verification, and certification standards. These stages don’t usually make headlines, but they’re the backbone of any successful export operation.

He shared, “[Companies] want sun-dried and well fermented cocoa beans that have good flavor.”

That one statement reveals a lot. Buyers aren’t just looking for volume, they’re looking for predictability, traceability, and assurance. Sun drying versus smoke drying can make or break a deal. 

Fermentation methods directly influence flavor profiles. The smallest misstep in preparation can lead to rejection at customs or warehouse docks abroad. This is why Divine is focused on elevating every part of his operation, even with limited resources.

Currently, Divine does not yet have an export license of his own. Instead, he works with established exporters who can step in once he has product on the ground. 

That works for now, but he knows it’s not a long-term solution. The goal is to internalize more of the export process, building capacity around quality control, compliance, and logistics. These steps require time, capital, and mentorship, and this is where strategic partnerships could make all the difference.

More than anything, Divine is seeking collaborators who understand that excellence isn’t achieved at harvest, but through systems. Systems that ensure every bag meets spec. Systems that minimize risk and maximize trust. Systems that turn potential into performance.

The Weight of First Contracts

One of the points Divine raised was the stress of managing that first big shipment.

“As a startup with the very first contract, you need to be in the field to do everything possible so that you deliver the first contract with a good quality on time and so that you should make the profit.”

That includes overseeing logistics, visiting farms, checking quality in person, and being deeply involved. 

For Divine, being closely involved in the process helps him ensure that every detail aligns with his standards and commitment to quality. His presence in the field is how he builds reliability into each shipment and assures future partners of his dedication. 

The first deal sets the tone for everything that follows. It signals to potential partners that the business is capable, dependable, and serious about quality and delivery. It’s proof that the business can deliver what it promises, under pressure, and with consistency.

He’s fully aware of what’s at stake. A single misstep could derail months of preparation. That’s why he insists on being present during the initial operations, ensuring that the beans are sorted properly, moisture levels are accurate, packaging is secure, and timelines are met. 

For him, this level of involvement is how he builds reliability, ensures quality, and establishes the kind of consistency that future partners will count on.

He’s also realistic about his current limitations. He understands the importance of expertise and is actively looking for partners who can walk alongside him to stabilize operations, help with financial management, contract negotiation, and overall business growth. 

Each of these roles, financial management, contract negotiation, operational oversight, is essential. Together, they form the backbone of a shipment that meets expectations and opens doors for future deals.

“What is now working is… the connection to do business to supply cocoa beans… What is best for me is to have partners that we can work together with [..] to do trial tonnage.”

Trying just a few tons at first, say 50 or 100, is the approach he’s taking to build credibility and learn alongside trusted allies. It’s a manageable volume that allows both sides to test the relationship, iron out the kinks, and gain confidence before scaling. It’s the business equivalent of a handshake deal, low-risk, high-trust, and full of potential.

Making the Off-Season Count

Cocoa has seasons. Divine shared that the major buying and exporting window begins in September and runs through early spring. But the real work of building a successful cocoa business doesn’t stop when the last shipment goes out.

Turns out, that’s when some of the most important groundwork is laid.

“You go back to the farmers, you now organize meetings with the farmers, you now talk with them, see how you can maintain your own farmers.”

In the off-season, Divine is busy with outreach: meeting farmers, listening to their concerns, offering small but meaningful forms of support. These actions might not generate headlines, but they generate trust. 

It’s during this time that companies secure their sourcing base for the upcoming season. That’s when relationships are tested, strengthened, and solidified.

Farmers remember who stood by them when they needed school supplies for their children, fertilizer for their crops, or simply someone to visit and check in. These gestures help build a strong foundation of trust and reinforce loyalty among farming communities.

“It’s competition in the field. You have to have something to present so that you have your own produce in return.”

Divine understands this dynamic well. By showing up consistently, even when there are no immediate transactions, he signals that his company values relationships as much as transactions, placing equal importance on long-term trust and community engagement. 

That’s how you create a cooperative network that lasts. During the off-season, he’s also planning for the long game: identifying key areas where value can be added, preparing sourcing strategies, and finding ways to differentiate his supply.

This farmer-first strategy is more than just a goodwill effort. It’s a tactical approach to building a resilient supply chain that can scale with confidence and stability. 

Divine knows that supporting farmers year-round builds the loyalty and dependability needed when the season comes back around.

Beyond Commodities: Capturing More Value

A key topic in our conversation was value addition. Right now, Divine is sourcing beans. But what if he could also transform them?

We discussed how a ton of cocoa that might sell for $1,000 to $2,000 at origin ends up as retail chocolate priced at $38,000 per ton. That difference comes from everything that happens after the beans leave the farm, sorting, roasting, flavor refinement, branding, packaging, and building a consumer connection around the final product. Each stage increases the value dramatically.

Divine expressed a clear intention to pursue opportunities in international markets. He said, “I am focused in the international market… I am very much interested.” His sights are set on building lasting relationships with global buyers who value quality, consistency, and the story behind the product.

He sees the potential not just to export raw cocoa beans, but to participate in the transformation that turns a commodity into a crafted product. 

His ambition includes partnering with artisan chocolatiers, understanding what they look for in raw materials, and gradually building the capabilities to meet those standards consistently. 

That said, I had the opportunity to speak recently with the owner of a local, high-end artisan chocolate brand, who made it clear that for these companies, they need reliable sources of high-end chocolate mass, to all sorts of specifications. 

This entails purchasing from companies such as Callebaut and Valrhona. These companies have perfected chocolate production, offering extensive product lines specifically for chocolatiers. Furthermore, their scale allows them to achieve the ideal balance of volume, quality, and price.

Divine and similar sellers face a significant challenge: the prohibitive capital expenditure needed to acquire the machinery for local cocoa bean processing. This means they cannot afford the equipment necessary to transform cocoa beans into the specialized chocolate mass required for their products.

Conclusion: Small Steps, Big Vision

Divine’s cocoa startup reflects a much larger story, a story about ambition shaped by firsthand experience, and growth driven by trust, not shortcuts. Every decision, every conversation, and every shipment is part of a bigger plan to build something sustainable and meaningful. 

What Divine is building goes beyond a traditional supply chain. It’s an interconnected system grounded in people, collaborative partnerships, and a sense of shared mission.

His progress so far has come through showing up consistently, at the farms, in the meetings, and with potential collaborators. He’s taken the time to understand every part of the cocoa journey, from planting to exporting, and is now exploring the next steps in transformation and global connection. 

The way he puts it, “just a trial tonnage” could be the beginning of something much greater. He’s not seeking scale at any cost, he’s seeking partners who understand the value of patience, groundwork, and building together.

If you see promise in developing fair, transparent, and value-added supply chains, if you care about connecting local producers to global markets in a way that benefits all sides, this is the kind of partnership worth exploring. Divine is ready. His community is ready. The market is already waiting.