By Obiabin Onukwugha
African baobab is a common, multifunctional tree native to Western Africa’s arid and semi-Arid regions.
Also known as bottle tree, baobob offers a broad range of economic benefits, including clothing and medicines, protection (shade), non-wood-forestry products and raw materials for several products.
Baobob fruit, seed, leaves and flowers are used for the production of milk, flavoring agents, spices, protein, oils, and feeds.
Several medicinal benefits of have also been attributed to the African Baobab. Baobab Market size was valued at USD2.36 Billion in 2023 and the market industry is projected to grow from USD 2.67 Billion in 2024 to USD 6.208 Billion by 2032, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.12% during the forecast period (2024 – 2032).
Native to the African continent, the baobab is known as the “tree of life” for its resilience and is found from South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Sudan and Senegal.
Zimbabwe has about 5 million of the trees, according to Zimtrade, a government export agency.
In recent years some Zimbabwean young entrepreneurs have found a business hob in this wonder tree, thus not just creating employment opportunities and food security, but contributing to the country’s annual gross domestic product (GDP) through its export.
Baobab trade took root in Zimbabwe in 2018, following devastating drought in southern Africa, worsened by the El Niño weather phenomenon.
It was previously supplemented for children’s school fees and clothing for locals of the small town of Kotwa in northeastern Zimbabwe. But today, the market has become big.
Loveness Bhitoni, is a 50-year-old woman, who picks the fruit from the gigantic baobab trees surrounding her homestead in Zimbabwe to add variety to the family’s staple corn and millet diet.
She also sells to make income for herself and herself and her family.
Also, a young entrepreneur, Gus Le Breton, co-founder of B’Ayoba, a company that produces baobab powder, The global market for baobab powder was valued at USD 7441.91 Million in 2022.
Baobab powder, extracted from the fruit of the baobab tree, contains nearly four times the vitamin C of oranges and is rich in essential minerals such as potassium and magnesium.
Gus has over 25 years track record in ethical, biodiversity-friendly natural products-related businesses across Southern Africa. He is the current Board Chair of the African Baobab Alliance (africanbaobaballiance.org), and was the founding CEO of PhytoTrade Africa.
As an entrepreneur, Gus is best-known as the driving force behind the market launch of Baobab.
Le Breton had his first taste of success after he and four other organisations got together in a bid to standardise marula oil production and pooled their resources to market it. After international retailer The Body Shop started buying the oil and using it in one of their make-up products, demand for the oil grew significantly, to the point where it is now a well established product in the industry.
While quality issues in oil production were significant, the bigger challenge lay in getting baobab powder to the international market.
Le Breton and his team were able to submit an application to the European Food Safety Authority. The process took four years from 2004 to 2008 and cost about $500,000. Once attained, it was followed up quickly by the United States’ Food and Drug Administration’s GRAS (generally recognised as safe) approval.
Le Breton views these approvals as a significant victory and milestone for producers of indigenous foods from southern Africa. They can now apply for approvals that are more affordable and somewhat faster.
“We were the first people to highlight the fact that these regulations were set up to prevent genetically modified organisms from being launched, not to prevent indigenous foods. And as a result of that, the pressure that we brought to bear, the European Food Safety Authority introduced a separate category of Novel Foods based on a traditional food, which does not require the same depth of toxicological testing as the GM foods do.” Le Breton himself is now working on three different Novel Foods applications for traditional or indigenous foods from southern Africa, including the bambara nut.