Partnerships | Scottish Fair Trade

Strengthening Fair Trade through global partnerships

Building The Market

Fair Trade Partnerships

At Scottish Fair Trade we believe in partnership working, led by the needs of Fair Trade producers. We have developed a number of partnerships focused on supporting Fair Trade producers, co-operatives and businesses to connect with the Scottish market.

Malawi Fair Trade 2022-2026

World Fair Trade Organization Africa & Middle East

At Scottish Fair Trade, our Global South partnerships are based on long-term collaboration and a shared commitment to fair and sustainable trade. We work alongside Fair Trade enterprises to strengthen access to markets on equitable terms, supporting viable and lasting commercial relationships.

From Fair Trade verification to market access

Our work in Malawi has developed in collaboration with WFTO Africa & Middle East. Between 2022 and 2025, the Kick Start Malawi Project supported three Malawian social enterprises to become members of the World Fair Trade Organization system – helping build credibility and embed fair trade principles.

Building on this, Scale Fair Trade Malawi shifted the focus to market development. Working with Awawo, KASFA, Kibebe and Thanthwe, support was shaped around their specific needs and growth ambitions.

This included:

Marketing and storytelling – practical, buyer-ready assets including photography, video content, and product brochures
UK market insights – direct feedback from buyers on pricing, packaging, and positioning
Buyer connections – introductions to ethical retailers and trade networks across Scotland and the UK
Export readiness – assessments and action plans to address key business and compliance gaps
Digital tools – content and a buyer-facing catalogue to support ongoing outreach

You can access the Malawi Fair Trade Catalogue here: Malawi Fair Trade Catalogue

Our approach

This work is grounded in a partnership approach that prioritises:

working directly with enterprises to understand priorities
drawing upon local expertise and commissioning in-country delivery
developing long-term relationships
supporting enterprises to operate as suppliers in international markets

The aim is to support enterprises to translate Fair Trade principles into practical market opportunities, contributing to more sustainable livelihoods while strengthening Scotland’s role as a Fair Trade Nation.

PREVIOUS PARTNERSHIPS

Ollema Fairer Farming Ventures – The Alternative Coffee Company 2021-2025

The Alternative Coffee Company was a social enterprise developed in partnership with Ollema Fairer Farming Ventures to connect Fair Trade specialty coffee growing co-operatives in Rwanda and Uganda with UK roasters and consumers.

It emerged from the Scottish Government-funded Rwandan Coffee Project, where Scottish Fair Trade supported efforts to build market access for small-scale producers. Building on this, the initiative worked with co-operatives across Rwanda and Uganda to supply green coffee beans to UK roasters, creating new trade relationships and routes to market.

Scottish Fair Trade played an active role in developing the UK market – engaging roasters and buyers, hosting stakeholder events, attending coffee festivals, and supporting wider promotion and awareness.

While the enterprise is no longer operating, it successfully facilitated sales of Fair Trade coffee into the UK market and helped establish direct relationships between producers and buyers. The experience has informed our ongoing work in connecting Fair Trade enterprises to viable market opportunities.