The ABS Compliant Biotrade in South(ern) Africa (ABioSA) project contributes to a competitive, resilient, prosperous, inclusive and sustainable ABS-compliant southern African biotrade sector. It helps the sector to add value to natural plant ingredients, develop new products and markets, and stimulate economic opportunities while recognising the importance of traditional knowledge, biodiversity and conservation.
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In its first phase from Feb 2018 to Sept 2021, ABioSA worked with 13 biotrade value chains, based on national priority species for sustainable wild harvesting and cultivation, traditional knowledge, ecological sustainability, market demand, potential for value-adding and job creation, and participation of SMMEs and communities.
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ABioSA phase II ran from November 2021 to December 2024. After a competitive selection process the project supported sector associations representing five plant species and value chains, and their implementation of sector development plans (SDP) for:
ABioSA boosted the quality and integrity of high-value Baobab and Marula oils with novel testing and technology.
Adulteration of indigenous oils through dilution erodes consumer trust, forces genuine producers out of the market, and impacts communities which rely on the trade for livelihoods.
A successful Honeybush community pilot brought a different dimension to community inclusion in the Honeybush value chain. From June to August 2023 a series of facilitated community workshops were held in the southern Cape with participation from national and provincial government, Khoe Khoe indigenous leadership, community leadership, local community members (elders, youth and women), wild harvesters, local processors, traditional healers and knowledge holders.
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ABioSA worked with partners to ensure the success of the 2nd African Biotrade Festival (ABF) in Johannesburg in September 2025, building on the first ABF in 2023.
ABF is a vibrant marketplace attended by investors, researchers, buyers and innovators from the food, fragrance, flavours, ingredients and cosmetics sectors, biotrade producers, suppliers and communities.
ABioSA applies its systemic competitive approach to its work with government, small businesses, development partners, business support organisations and local communities.
It recognises the importance of working at the micro, meso, macro and meta level in collaboration with all relevant biotrade stakeholders to strengthen African biotrade with interventions that respond to the needs of the whole sector.
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ABioSA is focused on the dynamic interaction between all stakeholders across the four levels of the systemic competitiveness framework; particularly how information flows, how problems are solved, how knowledge is generated, and how ongoing learning occurs.
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