‘Africa Has the Leverage’: Inter-African Coffee Veteran on Reclaiming Global Market Share

As global demand for coffee continues to soar, African nations are no longer content with playing the role of raw material exporters. Instead, they are increasingly leveraging South–South cooperation, value addition, and collective market strategies to redefine their place in the global coffee industry.This shift is not accidental. It reflects a deliberate continental movement towards processing more coffee locally, building stronger farmer cooperatives, and creating trade alliances across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The goal is clear: to reclaim value and assert African identity on coffee shelves worldwide.