Business development for professionalization of the organisation

Mount Rwenzori Coffee Farmers Association is an association which registered in June 2013 with 2.076 coffee farmers in Kasese region to take benefit of the potential for coffee on the one hand but also to cope with the challenges faced by the coffee producers in the Ruwenzori region. Currently the association has 15 member groups, of which 10 are registered primary cooperatives, totaling up to 2.400 members, all in Kasese district so far. A great strength is the commitment of the members, the Board, staff and management of the association. There was a 95% attendance rate at the latest AGM of February 2014. Staff works at a voluntary basis and are dedicated and motivated to work as they believe and are optimistic that the association will do better business in the future, which means fair remunerations at a later stage. The organization has a clear focus: the sales of their coffee and their main objective is to find better markets. One of the activities which they have taken up already is the process of certifying as Fair Trade. This will help them to find better markets. Secondly, Mnt Rwenzori Coffee Farmers Association has a second strength in the form of their coffee: they produce Arabica coffee, while the majority of Uganda's coffee is Robusta. The main objective for the partnership between Agriterra and MRCFA is to scale up the sales volumes. This is to gain more sales experience, to build up some capital and to get a track record. Getting access to finance will be crucial. Secondly, as MRCFA is a start-up, there is a high risk, especially if you take a closer look to their financial management. This is still in poor condition. This will be the second main objective of collaboration. Agriterra will significantly improve the financial management and other key process for running a successful business.