Your trusted counterpart in Ethiopia:
ZEM Coffee + Ethio-Catalyst.
Risk Management in Ethiopian Coffee
Ethiopia has a reputation as one of the riskiest countries to trade with, but is also one of the essential origins for specialty coffee buyers.
We focus on limiting your risk so in turn you can focus on what you do best: selling coffee!
Common Risks Faced by Importers Working in Ethiopia 👉
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Widespread blending and flavor-matching practices, shoddy and unreliable lot sampling, lack of education among coffee professionals, and processing problems can cause enormous, expensive problems for importers buying Ethiopian coffee. This is exacerbated by insufficient information about the coffee and the inability to trust samples are truly representative of their affiliated lots.
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Given Ethiopia’s 38/100 score on the Corruption Perceptions Index and the country’s ongoing problems with finance and stability, it is common to face extreme problems with counterparts in the export sector. These range from invoice fraud to bad communication to dishonesty, and can expose importers to very expensive losses.
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Exporters’ hopeful practices of signing contracts for coffees lots which they do not yet own and using those to secure funds for importing other products ranging from trucks to diapers can result in default or unreasonable delays due to lack of product. This is among many other reasons why importers may be left hanging, waiting for exporters to fill contracts and losing business by the delay.
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Shipping lanes and availability are a constant challenge for importers, but getting documentation completed correctly on a timely basis can be a problem from Ethiopian exporters, triggering costly delays in ports and finance complications.
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Shipments can be delayed for countless reasons, some out of the importer’s and the exporter’s control. However, timeliness of sampling, response, contracting, processing, documentation, and finance can all protract a shipment beyond its ideal window and bring on other risks ranging from quality issues to sales problems.
We’ve been building systems and expertise to solve these problems since 2013.
That’s when our 3 co-founders, Zele, Emily, and Michael, experienced every single one of the above risks in a single importing year and vowed to do something about it. Always independent and focused on building equity for all stakeholders in the supply chain, we:
Got our hands filthy as we learned where the weak points are in the supply chain from washing station through LTL freight
Identified the inflection points that make the biggest difference in minimizing risk, like developing our own sample-pulling process and always doing ourselves using our 7-person Ethiopian team.
Trialed business models, partners, process innovation, and more in the relentless pursuit of excllence.
L-R: Michael McIntyre, Emily McIntyre, Zelalem Girma Bayou
Yirgacheffe, 2018
Our Offerings For Specialty Coffee Importers
Traceable, Assured Coffee Sourcing & Custom Production
We represent a unique and curated supply chain in Ethiopia, including producers who have vertically integrated with our export company AND small family businesses with their own export licenses. Most of these coffees are processed by our team on the ground in Ethiopia’s coffeelands.
This means you can access coffees none of your competitors have, lean on our famous marketing materials, and rely on us to do QC, export oversight, and any necessary container consolidations. Think of us as your “boots on the ground sourcing team”!
Sample Pulling, Process Oversight, & Export Preparation Services
Maybe you’ve got an established supply chain in Ethiopia already, but you need more assurance that your needs are being met or want to provide your direct relationships with more support? We’re able to step in as your “boots on the ground” team to the extent that works for you. This can include:
Sourcing & lot selection
Sample pulling, data analysis, and sending
Export prep & container stuffing
Documentation support
Addis Ababa Lab Rent & QC Services
Our coffee lab in the Bole Bulbula district of Addis Ababa is outfitted with multiple sample roasters, water activity and moisture content meters, and everything else necessary to host cuppings for buyers and team members. We have two dedicated lab assistants and the office is run by our Q-certified Founder, Zelalem Girma Bayou to international standards. This lab is available for professional usage.
We can also offer sourcing & lot selection as well as QC for coffee samples.