Yoba for Life: probiotic yoghurt for East Africa
The Yoba for Life Foundation aids underprivileged people in East Africa by promoting health through the local production of probiotic yoghurt, Yoba. Winclove Probiotics supports this initiative with logistics and marketing.
“Yoba for Life offers probiotic yoghurt in countries where the people can benefit greatly from it. Winclove Probiotics develops, researches, and produces probiotics and wants to be the best company for the world. For us this collaboration is a logical step forward.”
Promoting health in Uganda, Tanzania, and Ethiopia
Probiotic yoghurt improves lives, especially in underserved communities. Yoba for Life, established in 2009, started with projects in Uganda, Tanzania, and Ethiopia and now expands its reach with pilot projects to other developing nations.
B Corp in the future
With external financial support, Yoba for Life provides local entrepreneurs with probiotic yoghurt-starter culture and education. The entrepreneurs then use a low-tech production protocol to produce the probiotic Yoba yoghurt. In addition, Yoba for Life assists the local entrepreneurs in the running of their yoghurt production companies by means of support in:
• purchasing
• production
• marketing
• sales
• bookkeeping
In this way farmers and small-scale dairy processors learn how producing probiotic yoghurt can add value to milk. Ultimately, these companies not only retail their product but also sell to schools as part of sustainable food programmes.
Sustainable goals
The Yoba for Life Foundation is an initiative of Wilbert Sybesma and Remco Kort, both microbiologists. Launched in 2011 with initial activities in Uganda, the project has since expanded to encompass all of East Africa. Yoba for Life includes 250 producers with a total weekly yield of 80,000 litres of GG-based probiotic yoghurt. The concept not only provides access to healthy probiotic food in underdeveloped and developing countries but also generates jobs and income for hundreds of people and creates markets for the milk of hundreds of farmers.