Alex Rose-Innes
Little did Michael Annan-Forson from Ghana know that advertising his business, the Melach Coconut Processing Farm on LinkedIn, would see him outrival global competitors.
A businessman from Jerusalem visited Ghana and was so impressed with the quality of the African coconut oil that he bought six tonnes to send to Israel and since then, Michael’s fortunes had changed, growing his coconut producing farm into a worldwide giant and leader.
When this big order came in, this entrepreneur was still working from his flat in Accra on a very small scale, but he jumped at the opportunity and moved to another region where factory space was available for rent. He also purchased a small grinding machine with the USD 35 000 the Israeli business paid up front.
Annan-Forson completed the order within seven days with the Israeli businessman, who is also a rabbi, on hand to certify the oil met with the stringent kosher standards of the Jewish religion.
And as the saying goes, the rest is history and a true rags to riches tale of dreams achieved, hard work and grabbing an opportunity. Since then, Melach Coconut Processing had become one of the African continent’s largest exporters of coconut products, including oil, water, porridge, charcoal, potash and sugar. Hundred and sixty six (166) smallholder farmers in western Ghana are benefitting as raw products are sourced from them. Michael’s 200 acre farm grows coconuts on an industrial scale, where 16 permanent staff and 13 temporary workers are working – a far cry from the stove in his small flat where he started out.
Securing a USD 17 000 grant from the Department for International Development (DFID), a development agency from the United Kingdom, another processing machine was acquired.
Annan-Forson had never taken out a bank loan but managed to grow with the upfront payment for the first large sale and the grant from the DFID. He was quoted as saying that when he started in 2006, he went from bank to bank in Ghana, but they refused to help him as they did not believe in the project. He has the last laugh as today, every bank is knocking on his door willing to throw as much cash as he wants, his way.
Michael now has clients in Mexico, Bangladesh, Thailand and the Netherlands and supplies to the United States, one of his biggest customers, buying 50 tonnes per month. He sells coconut products, such as oil and water, in bulk to overseas companies where the raw material is processed and branded products created.
Melach Processing is currently producing 600 tonnes of coconut products per year and registered a profit of USD 966,000 last year when other businesses across the world, had to scale down or close their doors. Sales rose during the pandemic as demands from cosmetic companies grew. Michael predicts that sales will increase by a whopping 40% every year and reach USD 2 million profit this year.
With the continued growth of exports outside Africa, Melach is also now targeting the rest of the African continent.
