LCM Stories Social Enterprise Debitru - Moyee Coffee

We will start this year with a story about Debritu Mogesse Lusteau who is originally from Ethiopia. -  and founded the Meleya coffee brand and co founded Moyee Coffee 

Debitru:” In 2007, I created the Meleya coffee brand. At that time I had limited budget so Meleya coffee was roasted in The Netherlands and only distributed in some shops. After a few years of activities, I was able to team up with a startup in Amsterdam in 2012 and we co-founded Moyee Coffee.” 

Debitru:” Today, we are able to raise enough funding to finance a 30 000 m2 coffee cleaning and roasting facility and have 4 coffee corners in Ethiopia.

Some of the founders are running a 1000 ha plus coffee farm and there are 50 plus roasting companies in Ethiopia. I believe a Fair Chaine concept is the way out of poverty.”

Debitru:” Roasting coffee for clients worldwide is a big opportunity to Ethiopia coffee sector. We were able to train people for different tasks that weren't to be found in Ethiopia. 

The training goes back at farm level because the care to the coffee needed has to start from farm to package. “

Debitru:” The export process is done direct from Addis Ababa to Amsterdam with logistics partners. The price to export is a bit high but if volume is there we can negotiate and come to a better deal. “

Debitru:” I would advise other Diaspora with similar idea to organize themselves in a group before you take a risk. We launched Moyee, when we were with 5, then 15 people joined and invested. Today we are still 20 people to be shareholders in the business. 

If you want to learn more about Debritu and Moyee coffee check the website: https://lnkd.in/eukN5-Ya