Loom Craft Chocolate: Creating Wealth for the Community Through Full-Value Cocoa Processing

Uzoamaka Izukanne Igweike

It is no secret that Africa’s excessive dependency on raw material exports and imported consumer goods has a debilitating impact on its economies. The UN defines a country as dependent on commodities if they are more than three-fifths of its physical exports. According to an article by the Economist, 83% of African countries meet that threshold, with most relying on mining or pumping oil.

Experts agree that value addition to its raw materials is the key to unlocking Africa’s economy and a viable way to reduce poverty and social inequality on the continent.

AWEC Alumna and Pitch Competition Winner Uzoamaka Izukanne Igweike spoke to us about establishing her business to do just that, one raw cocoa bean at a time.

Introducing Loom Craft Chocolate

Uzo taking a look at one of the cocoa trees

It is often said that some of the best businesses are born out of frustration. Such was the case for tech-consultant Uzoamaka Izukanne Igweike, who struggled to find locally-made good quality chocolate for the ‘cake-baking’ side-hustle she started to earn extra income. 

“I was actually trying to solve a problem for myself. I loved baking and decorating with chocolate but it was always so difficult to find at the supermarket and when I did, it was so expensive. What baffled me at the time was that we even had a Cadbury Factory in Lagos and yet it only produced chocolate drinks.”

Further research opened her eyes to the scale and magnitude of the problem. Uzo learnt that with an economy heavily reliant on its crude oil exports and choice-food imports, Nigeria’s agricultural sector is often overlooked or neglected. It was then she decided to pursue the opportunity, and thus her chocolate company was born!

Loom Craft processing cocoa into chocolate

Loom Craft Chocolate is a cocoa processing company that transforms Nigerian-grown cocoa beans into delicious craft chocolate and cocoa products that are made using locally sourced, wholesome ingredients (no chemical additives) that suit their lifestyles and diets. They are also creating wealth for their community by adding new jobs to the economy and supporting other Nigerian businesses.

Humble Beginnings and Life Through AWEC

Uzo says before AWEC, her business was still in the testing phase.

“I started the business from a room at home. Working out of your home allows you to test the viability of your business. One of my mentors from the tech company I worked at advised me not to be in too much of a hurry to move out. Once you make a move, your costs double and all of a sudden it’s like managing two homes.”

Being on the AWEC program taught her how to better address the customer’s needs, particularly those who are health conscious, lactose intolerant and vegan. Not long after, Loom gained more traction in the market, and with increasing demand, transitioned from working out of her home to a factory. 

“We went from supplying less than 20 stores in Abuja to over 70 stores and possibly more across eight states in the country. But I want people to know that we didn’t just move into a fully kitted factory. It was a very run-down school we acquired and had to kit out bit by bit from scratch, which was a lot of hard work.”

Uzo credits the lessons from the assignments for the level of growth she’s seen in her business. Having attended several programs - one before and even one during AWEC - she says the AWEC curriculum is ‘pure gold’.  “I really took all the elements of the program seriously. I intended to apply everything I learnt to the business. The assignments, all of which forced me to think; were my absolute favorite, followed by the pre-read materials…they are simply out of this world! The Live Sessions reinforced all the pre-read concepts and literally brought them to life. Irrespective of your level of education you can utilize the AWEC program elements to really build out something solid.”

Pitching to Africa’s Largest Retailer

From the moment she began producing chocolate commercially, Uzo had been pursuing  Shoprite; one of the most successful food retailers on the continent and the biggest supermarket chain in Nigeria. But sadly, citing the ‘lack of market need for her products’, her proposals were turned down. With a lot of hard work, time and effort, Uzo says getting multiple rejections was painful and discouraging. It was after an AWEC assignment on ‘Sales’ that Uzo got the courage to try once more. 

“The assignment prompted us to segment our customers and create a pitch for them, and knowing that Shoprite was my target client, I specifically curated my deck with them in mind. My mentor, Chris Glasson, challenged me to really put the customer first, by asking me what Shoprite would get for stocking my products! I refined and updated the presentation, then walked into Shoprite. CORRECTION, I took a plane trip from Abuja to Lagos where we had a meaningful conversation.”

Within a week, Uzo received the good news that Shoprite would stock her products in all 21 of their stores in Nigeria. 

Bolstering the Ecosystem and Creating Wealth for the Community

A Loom Craft Cocoa Chocolate Bar

When it comes to sourcing locally, Uzo is uncompromising. Loom Craft Chocolate aims to maximize the economic value of local produce. From the raw cocoa beans to the packaging, she wants to ensure that —where possible— all the way through the value chain, everything is Nigerian-sourced. She is also investigating how to manufacture the machines they use. “We don’t import anything except our equipment and even then, if you deconstruct it, the granite which was used to manufacture it actually originates from here. We’re already partnering with other companies to research how we can build our own machinery!”

The team also supports and leverages the output of other SMEs as their inclusion chocolate bars require fruits and nuts. Loom is actively exploring more ways to incorporate what other businesses produce, thereby adding a new source of income to the community. 

The Next Chapter

With their vision to acquire a share of the global chocolate market, exporting is crucial to Loom Craft Chocolate’s growth. The team is well on their way to regional expansion, starting with supplies to East Africa through Kenya. “We recently partnered with a trade house in Kenya to help us export our products to the East African market. We’ve just delivered the first shipment, which we expect to start seeing in supermarkets very soon.”

AWEC is all about empowering women like Uzo to gain the skills and confidence they need to succeed in business. We look forward to following her growth and seeing how she continues to lift up other businesses around her.