Initially known for its multi-category approach, including a focus on fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), Norskenn-22-backed startup, Sabi, has sharpened its focus on commodities, especially mineral and agricultural commodities.
Launched in 2021 by Ademola Adesina and Anu Adedoyin Adasolum, Sabi has developed a robust digital infrastructure and market intelligence that improves global market access for Africa’s informal sector.
Its digital infrastructure now consists of a product called Market through which it will continue to manage FMCG businesses, and Technology Rails for African Commodities Exchange (TRACE), through which it manages mineral and agricultural commodities businesses. The startup will no longer operate in sectors outside these three.
Sabi began its market segmentation in November 2023 with emphasis on its TRACE product as demand grew. Adedoyin Adasolum, Sabi’s CEO, said on a call that this focus reflects TRACE’s potential to help the startup meet its long-term objectives.
Sabi’s decision to double down on its TRACE platform underscores the growing global scrutiny of ethical sourcing, aiming to address the persistent issues of unreliable supply chain and limited visibility in Africa’s resource-rich regions. Sabi aims to standardise small- and medium-scale mining operations to ensure commodities meet international standards.
Transparency is key
Similar to challenges with market access for FMCGs, Sabi’s foray into commodities, particularly minerals, stems from supply chain unreliability, limited visibility, and access.
“But the difference here is that we’re orienting this for export, and commodities do work very differently,” Adedoyin Adasolum said.
The commodities and mining industry in Nigeria and many parts of Africa is populated by small and medium, often informal, mining operations which, to be matched with large, global supply chains, demand commodities be supplied in more industrial quantities, meet higher degrees of quality control as well as stricter policy requirements, among several others.
Sabi’s TRACE aims to simplify this process—not only for mineral commodities but for agriculture as well.
“So, suppliers can list their inventory,” Adedoyin Adasolum said. “They can list their quality tests; they can plug into more quality tests; they can ask for samplers to come to site; they can access finance, and then, extremely importantly, we can trace the source of the supply.”
Mineral commodities so far processed via the TRACE platform include lithium, tin, copper, monazite, and beryllium sourced from several African countries including Nigeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania. These minerals, and agricultural commodities, reach global off-takers who supply to variously sized companies in several countries from the US, UK, and Netherlands to Singapore and other parts of Asia. These range from battery manufacturers to chocolate-producing companies—Louis Adun, Business Manager, Africa at COAF, a big offtaker for American multinational, Cargill, is one of TRACE’s clients.
Adedoyin Adasolum argues that outside of precious metals and gemstones–which Sabi doesn’t deal in—African mining has not featured significantly in the global supply chain despite holding 30% of the world’s minerals reserves.
“Basically, what we’re doing is helping these mines professionalise, learn to meet standards and then plugging them into these off-take opportunities,” she said.
For many of the global companies it serves, Sabi’s TRACE offers much needed transparency throughout the supply chain, a factor that has become even more critical as the methods and politics of Africa’s mineral extraction comes under scrutiny globally and companies are put to test about their sustainable sourcing philosophies.
If you followed the news cycle in late 2024, for instance, you may have learned of a lawsuit filed by the Democratic Republic of Congo against Apple Inc.’s French and Belgian subsidiaries. The DRC government, through its lawyers, accused the tech giant of sourcing what they referred to as “blood minerals”, “pillaged from the DRC and laundered through international supply chains,” to manufacture their devices.
In response, the tech giant rejected the allegations and later, suspended sourcing gold, tin, tantalum, and tungsten from the DRC, telling the BBC that the company was “concerned it was no longer possible for independent auditors or industry certification mechanisms to perform the due diligence required to meet our high standards.”
With its ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) compliance mechanisms, TRACE helps local suppliers understand and meet global standards requirements as they apply to different countries and buyers.
This involves two key aspects: tracing the commodity’s origin, ensuring it meets ethical standards, and verifying that the commodity adheres to the quality specifications of the buyer.
To achieve this, TRACE incorporates a system called Flare, which acts like a “passport” for each commodity, both mineral and agricultural. Integrated with blockchain technology, Flare tracks ESG data for every commodity, ensuring compliance at every stage of the supply chain and providing a transparent, traceable, and auditable record from sourcing to off-take. Standards-wise, each commodity is optimised to meet product-specific requirements like suitable sizes, moisture content, or processing levels for agricultural commodities.
The verification process is multi-layered and adapts to the specific mineral, location, and quantity. While the initial step involves suppliers listing their information and existing quality reports, physical verification is a crucial element.
Adedoyin Adasolum says Sabi’s network of samplers, testing labs, verification agencies, and ESG/traceability consultants visit sites to verify data and sourcing practices. The verification levels within the system depend on several factors including the quantity of supply, as well as the familiarity of the source location.
“For instance, if you are supplying from a particular location and it’s a location we’re familiar with and it’s already been verified, then we wouldn’t need to send someone else out to verify all those pieces,” she said.
Beyond the technological infrastructure, Sabi’s internal ESG framework, built on principles of shared value and prosperity, social impact through market access, and corporate stewardship lends to its long-term objective of sustainable and responsible commodity sourcing from the African continent.
Since its piloting, Sabi’s TRACE has facilitated approximately 50,000 tons of mineral exports.
A more sustainable way
According to Adedoyin Adasolum, the company is focused on creating standard and sustainable supply chains in a world increasingly powered by technology.
By working with its network of small and medium-sized operations and providing them with the necessary technology tools and systems to participate in the global market, or in educating global off-takers about the local dynamics of the commodities sector, it is playing its part in addressing larger challenges with the commodities industry in many parts of the continent.
“I think generally we are used to thinking of the mineral sector and mining in a particular way, but the reality of it is that anything you use that’s electronics related came from the ground,” she said. “You have large mines that work a particular way, but also you have smaller players locally that are growing out their operations, that are very serious about the standards needed to mine and grow their businesses and are willing to do what is necessary to hit those standards.”
Sabi’s TRACE, arguably pioneering in its approach, is designed to ensure those players have the tools they need to succeed, which she hopes will “have an impact on an industry level” as Sabi continues to scale.
