TANZANIA is set to host the third G25 African coffee summit, aimed at exploring how African coffee-producing countries can maximise value addition and boost Africa's share in the global coffee trade.

The summit is organised in collaboration with the Inter Africa Coffee Organisation (IACO), the summit will take place at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre in Dar es Salaam from 21 to 22 February 2025. The theme of the summit is "Unlocking Employment Opportunities for the Youth through Regeneration of the African Coffee Industry," and it will address the underperformance of the coffee sector on the continent.

Minister for Agriculture, Hussein Bashe, made the announcement in Dodoma yesterday, adding that President Samia Suluhu Hassan will address the summit, with participation from heads of state from African coffee-producing countries. Other expected guests include ministers of agriculture, senior government officials, and key players in the coffee sector, such as growers, processors, traders, and relevant stakeholders in the coffee value chain.

“This summit aims to outline a collaborative framework involving the African Union, its agencies, the African Development Bank, and regional financial institutions to develop programmes focused on youth employment and entrepreneurship,” said Bashe.

The summit will also examine various areas in the coffee value chain that hold potential for creating employment opportunities for youth in both coffee-producing and consuming countries. Additionally, it will explore avenues for accessing finance for coffee-related projects, including through frameworks such as the AU/AfCFTA and regional financial institutions, including the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the African Export-Import Bank.

The summit will propose the establishment of funding mechanisms to facilitate youth employment opportunities within the coffee industry.

The G25 African Coffee Summit initiative stems from a resolution adopted at IACO’s 61st Annual General Assembly in Kigali, Rwanda, in November 2021, to hold the summit to re-evaluate the coffee sector's performance in Africa. The first G25 summit was held in Kenya in May 2022, where the "Nairobi Declaration" was signed, integrating coffee as a strategic anchor commodity in the African Union (AU) in line with the AU Agenda 2063.

At the second summit in Kampala, Uganda, in August 2023, the “Kampala Declaration” was signed, urging heads of state of the G25 African coffee-producing countries to support the approval of coffee as a strategic anchor commodity in the AU Agenda 2063 and the inclusion of IACO as a specialised agency of the African Union at the next AU Heads of State Assembly.

In February 2024, during its 37th Ordinary Session in Addis Ababa, the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union adopted the inclusion of coffee as a strategic anchor commodity in the AU Agenda 2063 and IACO as a specialised agency of the African Union. This milestone provides IACO with the leverage to engage with the African Union on agricultural policies, seek funding for coffee sector projects, and remove trade barriers through the African Free Trade Agreement established in 2018.