Ethiopian startup, WAGA, is looking to tap into the country’s vast agricultural potential by piloting a blockchain-powered platform in the coffee supply chain by mid-2025.
The Co-Founders, Emanuel Acho (PhD) and Hana Terefe, conceived WAGA while interning at Nethermind, a London-based blockchain research and software engineering firm. Although they initially considered launching in Uganda, the vast potential of Ethiopia’s coffee supply chain ultimately drew them in.
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Hana, who discovered the crypto space just over three years ago, was instantly captivated by its transformative possibilities.
“It only makes sense to bring this to Ethiopia, one of the world’s largest coffee producers,” she said.
According to Hana, the influx of Bitcoin mining firms, impending crypto asset regulations, and the growing adoption of blockchain technology have further fueled their vision. However, she acknowledges the importance of proving its value to both regulators and supply chain stakeholders.
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In Ethiopia, smallholder farmers – who produce 95% of the country’s coffee – receive only a fraction of the commodity’s retail value due to opaque pricing, delayed payments, and dependence on intermediaries. Although coffee is a key foreign exchange earner, accounting for nearly one-third of Ethiopia’s export revenues, poverty remains widespread in the sector, with most farmers cultivating less than half a hectare of land.
WAGA’s aim is to streamline trade, increase transparency, and connect farmers to decentralized finance (DeFi) markets, empowering them with greater financial opportunities.
“Decentralize the fragmented coffee supply chain, is the core essence.”Says Hana.
“By digitizing coffee as tokens, every step from farm to cup becomes traceable. Farmers retain ownership of tokens, bypassing physical storage constraints and insulating themselves from price volatility upon sale.”
How the Coffee Tokenization Process on WAGA Works
WAGA assigns each physical coffee batch a token on the Ethereum blockchain, with key metadata – such as origin, certifications, and processing methods – securely stored on IPFS, a decentralized storage network. Chainlink oracles verify both the coffee reserves’ existence and real-time market prices, ensuring that each token remains tied to a tangible asset.
Through smart contracts, farmers can sell these tokens directly to global buyers, automating payments upon delivery confirmation. According to the founders, this approach reduces transaction fees by up to 70% while eliminating payment delays.
WAGA will also integrate with decentralized finance (DeFi) tools, allowing farmers to use tokenized coffee as collateral for loans on decentralized platforms. This innovative approach provides much-needed liquidity to farmers who otherwise lack access to traditional banking services.
WAGA’s project adopts the ERC-1155 token standard on Ethereum’s blockchain, enabling the creation and transfer of multiple token types (both fungible and non-fungible) within a single transaction.
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WAGA’s roadmap includes a testnet deployment by mid-2025, allowing the platform to refine its features in a controlled environment before the official mainnet launch. This milestone will determine whether decentralized technology can truly drive systemic change in one of the world’s oldest industries.
“Our token’s value is tied directly to coffee. Which means its pegged with coffee” says Emmanuel Acho.
Acho believes that by anchoring it to real-world coffee supplies and using blockchain to track every step of production, WAGA ensures transparency and stability.
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