About Us
Behind Akoua is a team of contributors from Germany and Benin (West Africa).
Simon Debade, married and father of a daughter, left his home country of Benin a few years ago to study computer science in Germany. Here he experienced the big differences first hand. While the full potential is being exploited here, there are significant challenges ahead in Africa, particularly in food processing. As a result, he founded the startup AKOUA, which focuses on processing cashew apples locally to reduce food waste and create jobs in Benin. He emphasizes that African countries should not only be suppliers of raw materials, but also value-added countries to promote the development of the continent.
After a bumpy start, his startup AKOUA's real breakthrough came after participating in the founder show "The Lions' Den" on VOX. Since then, many awards have followed, including the 2023 Founder of the Year award in the “Food Innovation” category.
Thérèse Ali Orou completed training in food processing. In a country where the business world is heavily male, Thérèse has earned respect and won numerous awards over the years. These include winning the award for "Best Young Entrepreneur in the Francophonie" in Kinshasa (2015), the title of "Best Food Technician in Benin" (2016) and being nominated for the "Cléopâtre Trophy" as one of the best women in Africa (2018). .
Through the support of various organizations, Thérèse is modernizing its juice processing plant to comply with basic standards in food processing.
In Benin, Thérèse alone has trained more than 500 women in juice production. These women are among the 1,500 people who work with her to supply juice production with cashew apples for processing.
Together with Simon Debade and under the AKOUA brand, they want to make cashew apples better known worldwide. In doing so, they not only want to make a contribution to sustainability, but also create jobs in their shared home country of Benin.
Silke Debade accompanied the idea generation and founding of AKOUA from the beginning. She realizes early on that implementing her husband's idea to increase the popularity of cashew apples will not be an easy task. Nevertheless, she supports him from the start and has his back.
The brand name AKOUA is inspired by the African first name of their daughter. Simon wanted to create a bridge between his two home countries through his company and the processing of cashew apples. He therefore chose the African first name of their German-Beninese daughter as the brand name.
For two years now, the name AKOUA has taken on additional meaning for the founder and his wife. It is now not only the daughter's first name, but also the brand name under which the processing of cashew apples is promoted together with the women's community in the cashew plantations of Benin.
Simon Debade, married and father of a daughter, left his home country of Benin a few years ago to study computer science in Germany. Here he experienced the big differences first hand. While the full potential is being exploited here, there are significant challenges ahead in Africa, particularly in food processing. As a result, he founded the startup AKOUA, which focuses on processing cashew apples locally to reduce food waste and create jobs in Benin. He emphasizes that African countries should not only be suppliers of raw materials, but also value-added countries to promote the development of the continent.
After a bumpy start, his startup AKOUA's real breakthrough came after participating in the founder show "The Lions' Den" on VOX. Since then, many awards have followed, including the 2023 Founder of the Year award in the “Food Innovation” category.
Thérèse Ali Orou completed training in food processing. In a country where the business world is heavily male, Thérèse has earned respect and won numerous awards over the years. These include winning the award for "Best Young Entrepreneur in the Francophonie" in Kinshasa (2015), the title of "Best Food Technician in Benin" (2016) and being nominated for the "Cléopâtre Trophy" as one of the best women in Africa (2018). .
Through the support of various organizations, Thérèse is modernizing its juice processing plant to comply with basic standards in food processing.
In Benin, Thérèse alone has trained more than 500 women in juice production. These women are among the 1,500 people who work with her to supply juice production with cashew apples for processing.
Together with Simon Debade and under the AKOUA brand, they want to make cashew apples better known worldwide. In doing so, they not only want to make a contribution to sustainability, but also create jobs in their shared home country of Benin.
Silke Debade accompanied the idea generation and founding of AKOUA from the beginning. She realizes early on that implementing her husband's idea to increase the popularity of cashew apples will not be an easy task. Nevertheless, she supports him from the start and has his back.
The brand name AKOUA is inspired by the African first name of their daughter. Simon wanted to create a bridge between his two home countries through his company and the processing of cashew apples. He therefore chose the African first name of their German-Beninese daughter as the brand name.
For two years now, the name AKOUA has taken on additional meaning for the founder and his wife. It is now not only the daughter's first name, but also the brand name under which the processing of cashew apples is promoted together with the women's community in the cashew plantations of Benin.
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