Ghana Cocoa Grinding & Chocolate Manufacturing — Cooperative Partnership

Requirement

Ghana is the world's second-largest cocoa producer and grinds less than 25% of its crop domestically. The rest ships as raw bean, priced against a commodity benchmark that has never rewarded origin quality, while the grinding and confectionery margin accrues in Amsterdam, Hamburg and Singapore. This partnership establishes a 3,000MT per year cocoa grinding facility in Ghana together with an established Ghanaian cooperative, producing cocoa liquor, butter and powder, with a second-phase chocolate manufacturing line for finished product. The cooperative contributes bean supply under its existing COCOBOD buying arrangements, meaning the facility is not exposed to spot procurement in a regulated market where access is the constraint rather than price. EU market access is already secured through the cooperative's existing buyer relationships — a material de-risking factor given the EU Deforestation Regulation now gates every cocoa consignment entering the European market on farm-level traceability that most Ghanaian supply cannot yet evidence. The partnership seeks $5M-$8M in equity from partners bringing grinding technology, confectionery capability or committed offtake.