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Ethiopian Coffee Initiative Training Kicks Off


Light Years IP’s blog, which is dedicated for the Ethiopian Coffee Initiative Training in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, says that more than forty people are attending the training. The posting, “The possible and the feasible,” is full of optimism and excitement:

“While managing coffee brands is common enough in the developed world, this is just unprecedented here in Ethiopia. And participants from coops, private exporters and relevant government institutions came with sacks of questions and deep expectations for the week ahead.”

I am impressed with the questions raised by the participants:

“They asked: As our trademarks are now secured [note: Ethiopia has now secured TMs in 28 key export markets] what are the current marketing plans and what are the next steps? How long will it take to see results? What are other developing countries’ experiences and what can we learn from them? What is the best way to convince our buyers of the benefits trademarks and licensing will bring? Can we really begin to end the uncertainties, and the ups and downs of the coffee market? Do buyers really care about poor Ethiopian farmers? Do consumers really think our coffees are special? And so many more…”

Nontheless, I am more interested in the answers to the questions.

The LYIP blog is laudable for taking the challenge of offering an inimitable coverage of the program from the land of “13 months of sunshine” but scant information circulation.

Read the blog here

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