SLU Student's Start-Up Expands, Connecting Small Coffee Farmers to the World
Maggie Rotermund
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11/25/2024
Moii Coffee Directly Connects Ethiopian Coffee Farmers to Roasters in North America
ST. LOUIS 鈥� After less than two years in operation, a business founded by a Saint Louis University student has gone from dorm room to the world. , founded in early 2023 by Firaol Ahmed, a senior in the Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business, began with Ahmed selling coffee out of his residence hall at SLU. Today, with the addition of partner and SLU alum Andy Irakoze, the business is a supply chain and logistics firm connecting coffee farmers in Africa with roasters in North America.
鈥淲e want to change the narrative and give the farmers the selling power,鈥� Ahmed said. 鈥淥ur mission is the same 鈥� we are humanizing the coffee business and putting the power in the hands of the growers.鈥�
Moii began with Ahmed importing green coffee beans from Ethiopia. He would roast small batches weekly at First Crack, a commercial roastery near the Missouri Botanical Garden, before shipping to out-of-town buyers and making hand deliveries for any orders within a 15-mile radius of SLU. Within months, Moii attracted customers in 32 states and recognition from the St. Louis business community.
Ahmed was named a St. Louis Inno Under 25 for 2023 by the St. Louis Business Journal.
In the last month, Moii has pivoted to connecting farmers in Ethiopia with interested roasters in the United States. Ahmed and Irakoze vet both ends of their supply chain before allowing the roasters to search their website to select a blend from a particular farmer. They currently have eight farmers on the site, with more in the pipeline who have expressed interest, and Ahmed is traveling to Ethiopia in December to connect with more growers.
鈥淭he launch has been beyond what we thought in just a couple of weeks 鈥� we have people reaching out from all over that want to use our product,鈥� Ahmed said.
He credits much of the interest to the work of Irakoze, who joined Moii as co-founder and chief technology officer this summer. Irakoze graduated from SLU in May 2023 with a master's in computer science. He was working as a software engineer when he decided to jump into Moii with Ahmed.
鈥淚 quit my job 鈥� I thought this was the moment to do something big,鈥� he said.
Irakoze was tasked with creating a software platform that was functional but also streamlined for use by growers with limited internet access and less time on their hands. The platform allows roasters to see and hear from the growers themselves, and for the growers to control the price of their product.
鈥淲e are changing the model. Big importers go into a country, look at the beans, and try to predict what people want. They buy in bulk. Moii鈥檚 customers look at the product, try it, and determine how much they need,鈥� Ahmed said. 鈥淲e allow the farmers to price their products and build a network to support themselves. We are telling the farmers that they have the power, and they call the shots where their crop is concerned.鈥�
Roasters from both coasts, as well as in Canada, have reached out to import beans. After adding more farmers in his birth country of Ethiopia, Ahmed said the next country Moii wants to expand to is Burundi, which is Irakoze鈥檚 country of origin. From there, they plan to expand to more African nations and then to other coffee-producing nations.
鈥淲e are building relationships 鈥� we want farmers and roasters to find partners they trust and work with them for the next 10 years,鈥� Ahmed said. 鈥淭his allows farmers to plan their harvest accordingly and have some financial stability.鈥�
When Moii first began to pivot, Ahmed said he tried to do too much himself. He interviewed all the growers and tried to create their biographies for the site before realizing that he didn鈥檛 need to stand in the way.
鈥淚 thought it would work to make them sort of uniform. I asked them all the same questions and I wrote it up,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd they all sounded the same. They weren鈥檛 personal. I stopped that and asked the coffee producers to introduce themselves. It is from them now, and it makes a difference.鈥�
Moii鈥檚 pivot to more of a supply chain and logistics company was born this summer as Ahmed participated in the Chaifetz Center for Entrepreneurship鈥檚 New Venture Accelerator program. Working with mentor and Center executive director Lewis Sheats, Ahmed realized he needed to change direction to meet the needs of his customers.
鈥淲e did an exercise where we went out and talked to our customers, really interviewing them about what we were doing and what services we could provide,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 when I realized there is a better and more scalable solution to continue to help African coffee growers sell their product.鈥�
That is when Irakoze came in.
鈥淚 knew him and knew how valuable he was,鈥� Ahmed said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 write a line of code, but I knew he was smart and could build something great. I can talk to customers and tell him my ideas and he makes it come alive on the website.鈥�
Irakoze came to SLU in the fall of 2019. He stayed in St. Louis when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, fearing that returning home might set back his education. He was offered a research assistant role with Flavio Esposito, Ph.D., assistant professor of computer science.
鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 be here without SLU and Dr. Esposito,鈥� Irakoze said. 鈥淭hat opportunity was so important. I learned a lot in my classes, but it was really working with faculty members and getting firsthand experience that taught me that I can do anything.鈥�
Irakoze said he learned to think from a research lens while at SLU.
鈥淚 have a research bias now,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen there is a problem, I go looking for a solution and I don鈥檛 stop until I have it.鈥�
Esposito said he is not at all surprised that Irakoze is doing so well.
鈥淚 really have seen Andy grow,鈥� said Esposito. 鈥淗e first took my Intro to Computer Science class as a freshman, and a few classes later I advised him on his master's thesis in my networking lab. It was an absolute pleasure. I鈥檓 really proud of what he鈥檚 accomplished and excited to see what he will do next.鈥�
Ahmed and Irakoze said they are learning from their first few weeks in business and are excited to continue to share their coffee culture with users and are excited to continue to connect farmers and roasters.
鈥淕iving farmers the opportunity to grow their brand was always a part of Moii,鈥� Ahmed said. 鈥淥ur mission is to empower farmers and humanize coffee.鈥�
About the Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business
Founded in 1910, the Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business at Saint Louis University has shaped the future of industry for more than a century. As one of the oldest business schools west of the Mississippi, the Chaifetz School has built a reputation as a leader in business education committed to innovation, inclusion and impact and recognized with eight undergraduate and graduate programs nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report.
About Saint Louis University
Founded in 1818, Saint Louis University is one of the nation鈥檚 oldest and most prestigious Catholic institutions. Rooted in Jesuit values and its pioneering history as the first university west of the Mississippi River, SLU offers more than 13,500 students a rigorous, transformative education of the whole person. At the core of the University鈥檚 diverse community of scholars is SLU鈥檚 service-focused mission, which challenges and prepares students to make the world a better, more just place.