You can read the announcement from Cafédirect here (PDF).
In the early 1990s Traidcraft pioneered fair trade coffee. We subsequently helped establish Cafédirect as a marketing organisation with the aim of taking Fairtrade coffee into the mainstream.
We believe that it is the right time to step back from our founder role enabling Cafédirect to grow and develop under the ownership of other investors, whilst releasing capital for us to reinvest in our own work.
The additional working capital will strengthen our balance sheet and enable us to invest in areas of our business which have the potential to grow for the benefit of our producers.
Paul Chandler, Chief Executive, said: “We are confident that after nearly twenty years of involvement in its governance, we are leaving Cafédirect in safe hands. Oikocredit is a respected ethical investor with a good track record in supporting fair trade activities, and it will bring expertise and financial resources to further the work of Cafédirect.
“Oxfam is retaining its founder role as a Guardian of the Cafédirect Gold Standard alongside Cafédirect’s producer partners, and this will ensure that Cafédirect continues to prioritise maximizing its impact on producers. We wish Anne MacCaig and the Board of Cafédirect well for the future, and look forward to our continued involvement in selling many of their products through our catalogue and webstore.”
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