The Global Shea Alliance last Thursday launched the ‘Shea 2020’ conference at the Palais des Congres in Kara in Togo.

This year’s conference, themed ‘Creating the Industry of Tomorrow’ will bring together over 500 stakeholders and companies between April 6 and 8, at the Hotel 2 Fevrier in Lomè

Participants of Shea 2020 will benefit from Business to Business meetings (B2B) SME trainings, field visits to interesting locations and a new attraction - The Shea Butter Village – where participants can experience hand-on shea butter processing.

Launching Shea 2020, Managing Director of the GSA, Aaron Adu, emphasised the need for all to be concerned about the sustainability of the shea industry, specifically, the rapid decline in shea tree population.

He said that these major sustainability challenges informed the theme for Shea 2020 conference ‘Creating the Industry of Tomorrow’.

Mr Adu encouraged stakeholders to lend their collective voice at the conference and beyond to address these issues in order to guarantee incomes, improved livelihoods and sustain jobs for millions of people.

Present at the launch were Togolese government officials as well as women Shea collectors and processors.