Ben Aziabou, a computer science trainee at TU Dortmund University, remembers bissap from his youth, when his mother used to make it herself in the kitchen. “I have actually resided in Germany for a long time, so I hadn’t intoxicated bissap in ages,” he says. In spring 2022, it came to mind once again, however he was not able to discover it in any grocery store in Germany. Without further ado, he developed his own bissap recipe. When his girlfriend Marya Kapenda, a management and economics student at Ruhr University Bochum (RUB), attempted it for the very first time, she was convinced. “More individuals require to hear about bissap,” she said. “What’s more, hibiscus is a genuine superfood. It’s rich in anti-oxidants, along with including a great deal of iron and vitamin C.”
First steps at a Christmas market
The very same year provided the first chance to check whether individuals in Germany would like it. The start-up entrepreneurs offered their very first hundred bottles of bissap for sale at a Christmas market in Cologne. “To produce enough, we stood in our kitchen all day long,” states Ben Aziabou. By that point, Marya Kapenda had already created the logo design. The drink sold out– all one hundred bottles– on the really first day. “Lots of people were familiar with bissap from their own journeys to Africa or purchased the bottles as presents,” states Marya Kapenda. Ben Aziabou adds: “We were rather worried that individuals might be biased versus an African drink, but up until now everybody likes it.” It is specifically due to the fact that African items are often underrepresented or stereotyped in Germany that the two trainees want to interact a positive picture of African culture through their start-up.
Objective is a youth center in Togo
At about the exact same time, the two young business owners established another vision that they hope to satisfy with the sale of their beverages. They noticed during a journey to Togo that there was hardly anywhere for children and children to fulfill up, which is why they wish to utilize the earnings from their start-up to open a youth center in Togo. “The idea likewise pertained to us due to the fact that for several years we assisted to organize a children’s and youth program in Dortmund,” says Marya Kapenda. “We understand how important such places are for advancement and interaction.”
From a concept to their own business
With the first successes under their belt, both wished to continue. Bissap should end up being a company endeavor. Their very first port of call was WORLDFACTORY, the start-up center at RUB, where they were offered expert guidance on how to start a company and recognized preliminary contacts to the start-up scene. They dealt with their concept for a year before lastly establishing “afro drinks by bam GmbH” in 2023. The advisors at the Center for Entrepreneurship & Transfer (CET) at TU Dortmund University drew the group’s attention to the “Gründungsstipendium NRW”, a start-up grant awarded by the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. “We used, and our pitch effectively convinced the jury, so we got the grant for a whole year,” Ben Aziabou is proud to report.
At today time, they are working to draw in natural supermarkets and delicatessens as circulation partners. From completion of January, bissap will be on sale in the primary canteen at TU Dortmund University and soon also in a store right in the middle of Bochum city center. The plan is to present more African sodas into the German market in the coming years.
About the start-up