INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
ASSOCIATIONS
Why? Because in rural Africa, you can’ t plug into a supply chain. You build it yourself.“ We had arrived in Mozambique hoping to be fish farmers. But being a good fish farmer wasn’ t enough. We had to become the industry.” Chicoa has since launched:
• Cold store depots along key trade routes
• Alternative protein product lines
• Data collection and pre-sale systems for vendor forecasting
Jayson Coomer, CFO of Chicoa Fish Farm.
doing it all with sharp financial discipline.“ They are entrepreneurs. If you treat them like price-sensitive consumers, you’ ll miss everything.”
For example, when Chicoa offered free ice to help extend the fish’ s shelf life, the vendors refused – ice makes the buckets too heavy to carry. But when asked what would actually help, the answer was clear: cooler boxes and umbrellas. Cooler boxes extended shelf life. Umbrellas kept them out of the sun.
Still, as Coomer wryly admitted, he’ s“ still trying to convince some board members that umbrellas are a good investment.”
LESSON THREE: OVERSUPPLY KILLS MARKETS
At one point, Chicoa’ s pricing was dropping dangerously. Fish was being discounted and sales were erratic. So, a confused Coomer sat with the spreadsheets and
noticed something strange: one shop in Beira was thriving.
The difference? He and the CEO had not visited it ever.“ I had no idea what was going on, so I decided we’ d leave Beira alone and went to investigate another shop in Blantyre instead.”
From the corner of that shop, laptop in hand, Jayson watched five tons of fish fly out the door before 09:00 every Tuesday. But the farm had sent seven tons, for transport cost efficiency. The leftover fish was frozen and sold slowly at a discount over the next few days, dragging down pricing and damaging vendor margins.“ So, I called the farm and said we’ re only sending five tons, no matter what the truck cost spreadsheet says.” Within weeks: pricing stabilised, sales increased, vendor margins recovered, and weekly volume eventually doubled to 15 tons.
The lesson?“ Vendors weren’ t pricesensitive. They were logic-sensitive. They knew what their customers would pay for fresh fish, not frozen leftovers.”
LESSON FOUR: YOU’ RE NOT JUST A FISH FARM, YOU’ RE THE SUPPLY CHAIN
What started as a fish farm has now become a logistics company, an FMCG distributor, a
trading and transport operation and a cold chain infrastructure builder.
And most importantly, they invested in relationships with vendors. Many now prepay for fish, because Chicoa delivers on time, reliably and with an understanding of each local market’ s needs.
“ If you’ re not reliable, they won’ t buy. But if you are, they’ ll build the market for you.”
ASK, DON’ T ASSUME
At the end of the day, Coomer says the cold chain challenge in Africa is not about the absence of technology. It’ s the absence of understanding.“ We all want to leap into solutions: IoT, AI and blockchain. But the better first question is, do I really understand the problem?”
The people living in poverty – vendors, farmers, truck drivers – are already solving these problems every day.“ They don’ t need you to bring them answers. They need you to ask better questions. Poor entrepreneurs are smart and hard-working. They live the problem you’ re trying to solve. Ask them what they need. Give them the dignity of having a valid opinion.”
And maybe, just maybe, listen to Kelvin: the manager of the Beira shop who never spoke in meetings, but quietly ran Chicoa’ s most successful outlet.“ Kelvin rarely speaks. But when he does, everyone listens – because he actually knows what he’ s talking about.”
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Humility beats expertise in unfamiliar contexts
• Informal markets are highly efficient when approached with respect and reliability
• Cold chain success depends on human behaviour, not just technology
• Oversupply can destroy both your prices and your partners’ businesses
• In Africa, businesses become conglomerates out of necessity, not ambition
• The best strategy? Ask. Listen. Adapt. Deliver. Repeat.
CLA
What started as a fish farm has now become a logistics company, an FMCG distributor, a trading and transport operation, and a cold chain infrastructure builder.
COLD LINK AFRICA • November / December 2025 www. coldlinkafrica. co. za
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