Taking Africa's Herbal Remedies to the World: My Sorghum Experience

Africa is home to an extensive and diverse medicinal plant life. We know these medicinal plants have many benefits, however we rarely invest in understanding what is really working (e.g. the active ingredients), quality control, safety, amongst others. Our traditional medical practices was once termed primitive by western medicine as it was shrouded with much secrecy, with few reports and documentations. However, through scientific investigations there is now better understanding of its therapeutic activities such that many pharmaceuticals have been modeled on phytochemicals derived from it.

For instance, the sorghum plant (sorghum bicolor) is an ancient grain from West Africa. Originating as a grass many millennia ago, sorghum has been cultivated over time by ancient Africans into a plant with large grains, similar to the journey that grassy corn has taken to be the edible plant we know today.?Since the dawn of modern man, sorghum bicolor has been used by humans as a daily health supplement. Ancient Africans valued sorghum for its variety of benefits, including blood building, antioxidant, anti inflammatory, and overall wellness benefits. They also believed in much more powerful claims such as aiding in the curing of sickle cell anemia, diabetes, and other more serious ailments.

My first encounter with scientific studies backing medicinal plant products from Africa was with Health Forever Products Limited (HFPL) in Lagos, Nigeria. Ranging from clinical studies, trials and testing to peer-reviews, comparative studies, etc...both locally and internationally, HFPL is thoroughly grounded in Scientific Studies. I was familiar with their local dietary supplements prior to working with the company, however in 2013 when they approached my Firm to do some work, I was shocked to find out the extensive studies they had conducted and how their product was recommended and sold in local pharmacies like western medicine. They also sold globally, mostly through PayPal.

HFPL is the manufacturer of health remedies that assists the human body to fight against and prevent the causes of life threatening diseases. Their flagship product is called Jobelyn?.

Jobelyn? is a?multi functional natural dietary supplement made from Sorghum bicolour with very high anti-oxidant capacity. It supports and enhances the natural anti-inflammatory functions of the body, whilst also creating a conducive and stable Immune System with it’s unique properties with which it can help the body repair and defend itself against life threatening disease condition.

Supported by science. Perfected through extensive clinical studies, trials and testing.

The health benefit, as a dietary supplement, is not just the reason I am always excited about Jobelyn?. Markets for Jobelyn? also includes beverages, bakeries, human food and drink products, pet medicine and edible pet products. There is also a new drive towards creating a natural colorant product made for the food industry and beyond.

The social impact side of their work, which sits at the core of the business, is also extremely exciting for me as a change agent. They partner directly with rural family farmers in Nigeria and West Africa to grow sorghum, the main ingredient of Jobelyn?. In many rural areas of West Africa, farming can be an unstable way of life. Selling crops directly to consumers is a fickle industry and takes up more than half of a farmer’s time that otherwise could be spent on growing. By working directly with local farmers to grow only sorghum that Jobelyn? purchases in full every year, little by little they can provide stability to these rural families.

The increased global demand for Jobelyn? has in turn increased the sorghum bicolor demand. This has created more & better jobs for rural family farmers in Nigeria & other regions of West Africa.

HFPL approached my Firm in 2013 to work on evaluating which country to pilot, developing the market entry strategy and helping to structure the organisation in readiness for scaling globally.?As part of its readiness to become a global organisation and to also be able to raise finance, we developed HFPL’s business plan, coordinated the fund raising process for factory expansion, provided organisational development and human capital development services. Specifically we worked on management structure, manpower audit, HR policy manual, executive search and selection to fill key management vacancies, compensation systems and staff training.

You can read the full Case Study of my Firm's work with Health Forever Products Limited between 2013 - 2016 on the W-Holistic Business Solutions website here:?TAKING AFRICA'S HERBAL REMEDIES TO THE WORLD WITH JOBELYN: Improving livelihoods of rural family farmers in West Africa

What can we learn from this company as Africans and our local/indigenous products?

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Abimbola Okubena