NEW INVESTMENT: UNCOMMON CACAO

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1 NEW INVESTMENT: UNCOMMON CACAO Uncommon Cacao is a U.S.-based company creating market access for smallholder cacao farmers across Latin America. Started in 2010, Uncommon Cacao buys high-quality cacao beans, at fair prices, directly from local farmers and cooperatives to sell to premium and craft chocolate makers worldwide. It is the first B Corp in the cacao industry. We are excited about the company because it is enabling low-income farmers to stabilize and increase their incomes by integrating them into a more equitable, global supply chain for premium cacao. REGION Latin America SECTOR Agriculture

2 INVESTMENT Uncommon Cacao currently has a waiting list of 75 specialty chocolate companies seeking Uncommon Cacao s delicious, premium cacao for their chocolate. Acumen s investment will enable the company to acquire a brokerage operation in the U.S., increase its fermentation and drying capacity in Guatemala and Belize, as well as scale its sourcing program to satisfy the growing demand for its premium beans. 500K IN EQUITY 840K USD REVENUE IN 2015 WHY IT MATTERS Integrating smallholder farmers into the premium cocoa supply chain by procuring raw ingredients directly from them, in a transparent way, helps create consistent demand for their products at fair prices leading to higher incomes and improved livelihoods. 1 BOARD SEAT 2

3 THE PROBLEM THE INNOVATION + 90% of the world s cocoa the main ingredient in chocolate is produced by smallholder farmers living under $2/day. + Despite a growing demand for premium chocolate, smallholder cacao farmers remain impoverished because the vast majority of profits from this nearly $100 billion booming global industry are going to big manufacturers and middlemen, rather than to producers. + By putting together multiple pieces of the supply chain from direct access to smallholder farmers, to selling directly to premium chocolate buyers Uncommon Cacao can pay higher prices to farmers while still commanding a premium price from end buyers. + Thanks to the company's top-quality fermentation and drying process, they can guarantee a consistent premium product to some of the world's new premium and craft chocolate buyers. + As a result of stagnant, low incomes, more and more farmers are either abandoning cacao for more lucrative crops, or producing poor-quality beans that must be sold at below-market prices because they can t afford to properly ferment and dry them steps that are critical to the development of chocolate flavor. + Uncommon Cacao is one of the first premium cacao buyers in Central America, and is building that supply chain from the ground up in a way that is fair and transparent. + Thanks to Uncommon Cacao, demand for chocolate from Belize and Guatemala, two of the countries where the company works, has grown exponentially as have farmers incomes and school attendance for farmers children. 3

4 IMPACT TARGETS POVERTY FOCUS 90% of Uncommon Cacao s farmer customers live on less than $2/day. BREADTH 10K farmers impacted over the next three years. DEPTH 2X increase in average annual family income. 4

5 2016 ANTICIPATED MILESTONES Operations +Construct new fermentation and drying facility in Belize +Implement new payroll and customer relationship management (CRM) systems +Expand brokerage operations by completing the acquisition and integration of Cacao Vivo, a division of Taza Chocolate +Purchase new fleet of delivery trucks to support expansion of sales network Lean Data + Launch Lean Data project to collect customer data and determine factors that to improve the company s service and operations Team + Hire full-time CFO 5

6 STAY INFORMED /uncommoncacao UNCOMMON CACAO WEBSITE 6