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Roots in Natural Plant Products

Agribusiness in Sustainable African Plant Products (ASNAPP) is an agribusiness firm that started as a USAID-funded project in 1997 operating in five countries: South Africa, Ghana, Zambia, Senegal and Rwanda. To ensure sustainability of the project, ASNAPP was institutionalised and registered as an NGO in 2001. ASNAPP was focused on developing successful African agribusinesses in the natural plant products sector, providing income, employment and development through environmentally and socially conscious sustainable production of high quality, healthful natural products for local, regional and overseas markets. It promoted African plant products — mainly herbal teas, natural sweeteners, medicinal products, essential oils and natural butters — onto the international market.

ASNAPP's operational model was market-first, science-based, and built on strategic partnerships. Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey was the anchor research partner, conducting scientific analysis of plants, developing quality assurance protocols and providing scientific information to facilitate international market access. Stellenbosch University, South Africa hosted ASNAPP and was the first institution to initiate cultivation of Rooibos and Honeybush teas by smallholder farmers in SA.

In Ghana, TechnoServe, KNUST and BioResources International were anchor partners. This partnership led to ethnobotanical studies of selected medicinal plants, the establishment of a Genebank at KNUST, and the cultivation of Cryptolepis by smallholder farmers. It also led to the maiden processing of kombo butter by women's groups for export to the US and South Africa for the cosmetic and horse feed industry. ASNAPP Ghana piloted the processing of Lippia, herbal teas and indigenous spices; the export of miracle berries to the US; and the domestication and cultivation of Artemisia annua for artesunate production. Export of medicinal plants was facilitated to increase from $3 million to $25 million in just 4 years.

In Rwanda, ASNAPP collaborated with Catholic Relief Services to commence commercialisation of essential oils by widows, which led to the formation of Ikirezi Natural Products as a social enterprise. In Senegal, ASNAPP formed and supported over 3,000 women to produce and market Hibiscus (Bissap) and Kinkeliba tea. In Zambia, ASNAPP commenced greenhouse production by People With Disability (PWD) to supply Zambezi Sun International Hotel, and later commercialised cultivation of Moringa, Bird's eye chilies and Mushrooms by women's groups.

Expanding Operations, Private Sector Entry

As part of a sustainability strategy for the USAID-funded project, ASNAPP institutionalised its operations across all countries of operation. In Ghana, ASNAPP introduced greenhouse production and extended its services to Liberia, implementing the PROSPER project, the Land Rights and Community Forestry Program (LRCFP), an ICCO-funded Alternative Livelihood Project, and for the first time facilitating direct export of medicinal plants from Liberia to Europe.

Realising global changes to food security, the importance of private sector partnership, and seemingly dwindling donor support, Agri-Impact Ventures was formed in 2003 to serve as a private sector partner and sister company to ASNAPP, supporting commercialisation and the generation of sustainable resources. Agri-Impact Ventures commenced export of medicinal plants to Europe, the US, China and India.

Building the Agri-Impact Group

In 2012, Agri-Impact Ventures was upgraded from a sole proprietorship to a limited liability company — Agri-Impact Limited — to enable it to undertake diverse and commercial projects. Its arm, Agri-Impact Consult led most consulting activities with national and international organisations.

In 2014, in response to emerging opportunities in greenhouse production, Agri-Impact formed Fresh Logistics (FL), responsible for trading and supplying quality vegetables to supermarkets and corner shops. That same year, with support from the Skills Development Fund (a World Bank and DANIDA-funded project), Agri-Impact established the Agri-Impact Entrepreneurship and Technology Institute (AETI) at Berekuso in the Eastern Region. Over 6 years, AETI trained 800 students in Greenhouse Technology, Agri-business Incubation, Enterprise Development and Business Management.

ASNAPP Ghana entered mainstream food crops, supporting farmer mobilisation and technical training, and market facilitation across maize, soya, cassava and vegetables value chains — impacting over 200,000 smallholder farmers, 40 aggregators, 10 agro-processing firms and 5 research institutions.

In 2015, the Entrepreneurship for Commercial Seed Incubation Business (ECOSIB) was established to build technical and managerial capacities of seed companies in Ghana and create a cadre of young seed value chain entrepreneurs.

In 2022, the Agri-Impact Group was formally established to coordinate the work of its sister companies: ASNAPP, Agri-Impact Consult, Fresh Logistics, ECOSIB, West Africa Greenhouse and AETI. Today, Agri-Impact Group is a recognised business development firm offering unparalleled agribusiness solutions to agricultural challenges across Sub-Saharan Africa.