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ECOCAJOU is a company majority-owned by ECOOKIM, the largest union of fair-trade cocoa cooperatives in Côte d’Ivoire and one of the most important in Africa, representing 1% of global cocoa production. Following its success in the cocoa sector, ECOOKIM decided to venture into high-value-added cashew processing as a complementary activity to cocoa. Thus, ECOCAJOU’s purpose is the processing of raw cashew nuts and their marketing in the form of cashew kernels. It primarily exports to Europe and the United States.
Côte d’Ivoire is by far the most dynamic and best-administered French-speaking country in Sub-Saharan Africa. In many respects (infrastructure, agrifood, health, education) and despite criticisms regarding favoritism or a lack of inclusion, the country is considered a model of economic development. State support in agricultural sectors is significant and is beginning to prove effective, particularly in agro-industrial processing (cashew, rubber, cotton), and negotiations regarding cocoa are becoming increasingly robust with multinational corporations.
With a processing capacity of 10,000 to 15,000 tons of raw cashew nuts since early 2023, ECOCAJOU aims to work with over 10,000 producers by 2025. In addition to the advantageous seasonal complementarity with cocoa, the cashew tree is particularly resilient to climate change and grows in the drier northern part of the country. Furthermore, ECOCAJOU plans to be certified 100% fair trade and predominantly organic.
