Our story
Built on trust,
rooted in Sierra Leone.
Clemendo Cocoa Beans was born from a shared belief: that the world's finest cocoa deserves to be grown with dignity, traded with transparency, and owned — in part — by the people who grow it.
Our mission
To source the finest organic cacao from Sierra Leone's Eastern and Southern Provinces while ensuring every farmer in our supply chain earns a stable, above-market income — and holds a stake in the business they help build.
How we began
CCBSL started with a conversation between two people who had both fallen in love with Sierra Leone — one who grew up in its Eastern Province and understood its land and its people, and one who arrived from the Netherlands and couldn't stop thinking about it after leaving.
What struck us both wasn't just the quality of the cacao growing quietly across Kailahun, Kenema, Bo, and Pujehun. It was the gap. Farmers with extraordinary crops and generations of knowledge were receiving commodity prices for produce that belonged in a different conversation entirely. We decided to start that conversation.
"We didn't set out to build a sourcing company. We set out to fix something that felt obviously wrong — and this is what that looks like."
CCBSL launched as a direct-trade partnership between Sierra Leonean agricultural cooperatives and European buyers who care where their ingredients come from. We are new — but the relationships we are built on are not.
What we stand for
Not a charity. Not a middleman. A partner.
Fair income, always
Fair prices to every cooperative — guaranteed per season, not subject to commodity swings.
Full traceability
Every lot is traceable to a named cooperative, harvest date, and fermentation record. No black boxes.
Farmer co-ownership
Our cooperative partners hold equity in CCBSL. When we grow, they grow — structurally.
Certified organic
100% of our supply is USDA Organic and Rainforest Alliance certified. No exceptions, no blending.
The founding partnership
Two founders. Two continents. One commitment.
Co-founder · Sierra Leone
Sierra Leonean Co-founder
Raised in the Eastern Province, with deep roots in the agricultural cooperatives that form the backbone of our supply chain. Leads farmer relations, quality grading, and cooperative partnerships on the ground.
Co-founder · Netherlands
Clement Ekhator, MBA, AI ML
Based in the Netherlands with a background in sustainable food supply chains. Leads European buyer relationships, logistics, and the commercial side of the business from Utrecht.
Why Sierra Leone
A quiet origin, finally heard.
Sierra Leone's cocoa sector has been quietly producing high-quality Forastero and hybrid cacao for decades — largely unrecognized on the global fine cocoa stage. The Eastern and Southern Provinces offer rich volcanic soils, consistent rainfall, and farming communities with generations of cacao knowledge.
The country is rebuilding its agricultural infrastructure with purpose, and we want to be part of that story — not as extractors, but as partners with long-term commitments, equity stakes, and genuine accountability to the people who make our work possible.
