African Coffee Traceability: KOLTIVA Participates at the Africa Coffee & Tea Expo 2025
- Gusi Ayu Putri Chandrika Sari
- Jul 7
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 11
Executive Summaries:
Africa’s coffee sector is at a turning point, where meeting global demand now requires more than quality beans—it demands traceability, sustainability, and compliance with trade regulations like the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
Key challenges—including limited digital infrastructure, capacity gaps among smallholders, and regulatory readiness—are hindering Africa’s full participation in premium markets, risking exclusion without targeted support and scalable solutions.
KOLTIVA is enabling Africa’s coffee producers to meet evolving market expectations by delivering integrated tools for traceability (KoltiTrace) and farmer capacity building (KoltiSkills), empowering inclusive and future-ready coffee supply chains.
Africa contributes over 12% of global coffee production, with countries like Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, and Rwanda standing out for their rich diversity of varieties and deep-rooted coffee traditions. While these origins are celebrated for quality, they now face a new set of expectations—proof of sustainable sourcing, regulatory compliance, and supply chain transparency. At the Africa Coffee & Tea Expo 2025, the focus is shifting beyond flavor profiles to infrastructure, digitization, and how African producers can protect access to international markets in the face of tightening trade regulations.
Understanding African Coffee Traceability & Production Landscape
African coffee traceability has long been recognized for its exceptional quality and distinct flavor profiles. Increasingly, these regions are also gaining attention for their efforts in sustainable farming, direct trade, and improved processing methods.
In recent years, global demand for traceable and responsibly sourced coffee has intensified. European markets, in particular, are tightening regulations related to deforestation, land legality, and environmental practices. The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) now requires verified geolocation data and confirmation that no deforestation has occurred since December 2020.
This presents significant challenges for African exporters, where smallholder farmers dominate the supply landscape. Many operate outside formal digital systems, with data often fragmented across cooperatives and traders, making compliance difficult.
Table of Index:
Export Trends: Where the Beans Are Going—and Why Traceability Matters
Regulatory frameworks like the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) are raising the bar for market access. Buyers are no longer just interested in cupping scores or origin names; they demand proof that their coffee is sourced ethically, deforestation-free, and fully traceable.
Africa exports over 18 million bags of coffee annually, accounting for 80% of its production. The main export markets include:
Europe (45%) – where regulations like EUDR are now in force
Asia (30%) – a growing destination for specialty origins
Americas (20%) – including high-end roasters and ethical buyers
Traceability is no longer optional for exporters targeting these markets. Importers now expect full documentation that proves ethical sourcing, deforestation-free production, and supply chain transparency.
Moving Beyond Compliance: The Broader Value of Traceability
While regulatory frameworks such as EUDR accelerate the adoption of traceability systems, the advantages extend further:
Market Positioning: Verified sustainability enhances product value and buyer confidence.
Operational Insight: Access to real-time data improves logistics, payments, and resource allocation.
Farmer Engagement: Transparent systems help foster stronger relationships with producers.
Risk Management: Proactive monitoring tools identify non-compliance risks early.
For buyers, traceability also provides an opportunity to engage consumers through verified sourcing stories—offering transparency from farm to cup. Meeting these new market standards requires robust systems that include:
Digital geolocation mapping of farm plots.
Verified historical land use records.
Digital transaction tracking through the supply chain.
Automated alerts and risk monitoring for regulatory compliance.
Without these systems, producers face exclusion from premium markets. This is where KOLTIVA plays a critical role.
The Bottlenecks to Market Access
Despite strong global demand, Africa’s coffee industry must overcome three core challenges that cover traceability infrastructure, limited knowledge and capacity, to the trade regulation readiness. One of the key challenges facing coffee-producing regions is the limited traceability infrastructure. In many areas, farm-level data is still recorded using paper-based systems, which creates significant barriers to accurately mapping farms, verifying land ownership, and ensuring traceability throughout the supply chain—from harvest to export. This lack of digital infrastructure hinders transparency and makes it difficult for stakeholders to verify origin or quality claims.
In addition, many farmer groups and cooperatives face capacity constraints. They often lack the necessary resources, tools, and technical expertise to manage digital record-keeping systems, conduct compliance verification, or document social and environmental practices that align with the growing demands of global buyers. These limitations create gaps in data accuracy and reduce the ability of smallholders to demonstrate compliance with sustainability requirements.
Moreover, trade regulation readiness presents another serious hurdle. The increasing costs associated with adhering to stringent regulations—such as the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), organic certifications, and various sustainability protocols—often outweigh the perceived benefits for smallholder farmers. Without targeted technical and financial support, many of these producers face the risk of being excluded from critical international markets, further deepening existing inequalities in the coffee supply chain.
KOLTIVA: Strengthening Africa’s Coffee Supply Chains
KOLTIVA works with farmers, cooperatives, exporters, and industry stakeholders across East and West Africa to digitize coffee supply chains and strengthen market resilience.
Through its integrated solutions, KOLTIVA enables full traceability and supports regulatory compliance:
KoltiTrace provides end-to-end traceability, capturing data from farmer registration, polygon mapping, and input usage, to post-harvest processing and logistics. This ensures exporters can generate complete traceability documentation aligned with EUDR and similar frameworks.
KoltiSkills strengthens farmer capacity through blended learning—combining digital modules and field coaching to deliver training on good agricultural practices, climate adaptation, and certification standards.
By integrating these tools, KOLTIVA helps African coffee producers deliver high-quality, verifiably sustainable products that meet evolving market expectations.
Africa Coffee & Tea Expo: Advancing Coffee Trade through Traceability and Collaboration
The Africa Coffee & Tea Expo 2025, held on July 7–8 at the Kigali Convention Centre in Rwanda, is a pivotal event for the region’s coffee sector. The Expo emphasizes digital transformation, climate adaptation, and trade facilitation—bringing together producers, exporters, and solution providers to share knowledge and form strategic partnerships.
KOLTIVA will participate, represented by Tarsis Katimbo, Business Development Representative for Europe and the Middle East. His participation reflects KOLTIVA’s ongoing efforts to drive transparent, compliant, and inclusive coffee supply chains across Africa.
📩 Interested in meeting us at the Expo? Connect with Tarsis and the KOLTIVA team by visiting www.koltiva.com/contact to schedule a meeting. We welcome discussions on strengthening coffee supply chains through traceability, data, and collaboration.
Conclusion: Africa's Coffee, Verified and Valued
Africa's coffee industry is undergoing a fundamental shift. While production continues to grow, the real value lies in visibility, sustainability, and smallholder inclusion. Traceability is not just a compliance requirement—it's the foundation of a future-proof coffee economy.
KOLTIVA's work across Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, and beyond reflects this evolution. By equipping stakeholders with tools, knowledge, and systems, the company is helping Africa lead the global move toward data-driven, climate-smart coffee trade.
For producers, the opportunity is to secure higher incomes, gain recognition for quality, and build direct trade relationships. For buyers, it's about de-risking sourcing and meeting consumer demand for ethical products. For everyone, it's about preserving the future of coffee.
Author: Gusi Ayu Putri Chandrika Sari, Sustainable Communications Specialist
About the Author:
Gusi Ayu Putri Chandrika Sari, serving as Koltiva's dedicated Communication and Social Media Expert at KOLTIVA, brings an impressive more than 5-year track record in communications, bolstered by a profound enthusiasm for sustainability, technology, and agriculture. Her extensive experience in communications has honed her skills in crafting compelling narratives and engaging content across various digital platforms.
Proud to see KOLTIVA supporting farmers and cooperatives across the continent with the tools and training needed to meet EUDR and beyond.