The terms defined on this page reflect how African Cocoa Marketplace (ACM) understands, interprets, and works within African cocoa supply chains.
These definitions are specific to ACM’s business model, our marketplace, and the services we provide. They are grounded in the lived experience of our team, built through decades of work across African cocoa markets with farmers, cooperatives, buying organizations, exporters, processors, and chocolate makers.
Cocoa supply chains are complex, and actors operating in different countries or regulatory contexts may use the same terms in different ways. Rather than relying on generic or abstract definitions, ACM uses language that reflects how cocoa is actually grown, traded, and moved to market in Africa today.
This glossary is intended to support clarity and shared understanding for users of the ACM Marketplace. Definitions may evolve over time as the platform grows, new features are introduced, and ACM’s work expands across regions and products.
The ACM Marketplace is a digital discovery platform that allows buyers to explore African cocoa sellers using structured search criteria. It is not an ecommerce site and does not enable direct purchasing or direct seller contact. The ACM Marketplace is designed to support informed sourcing decisions and to connect buyers with ACM’s verification and trade facilitation services.
A subscription provides buyers with time-limited access to the ACM Marketplace and its search functionality. Subscription fees cover platform access only and do not include ACM Verification Reports, ACM Transparent Trade Facilitation, or ACM Assurance Add-Ons. Subscription terms, pricing, and access levels may vary over time.
At ACM, transparency means providing clear, verified, and contextual information about cocoa sellers and their operations. ACM applies a comprehensive due diligence process to generate insight into cocoa sellers’ business practices, trade capacity, and sourcing realities. Transparency is the foundation for trust, accountability, and responsible trade.
Verification refers to ACM’s independent process of reviewing, validating, and documenting seller-provided information. It is not a certification and does not replace third-party standards or audits. Verification provides buyers with practical, decision-ready insight grounded in real business operations.
An ACM Verification Report is a detailed, third-party report that documents a seller’s business structure, sourcing and trade practices, operational capacity, and stated risks or needs. Reports are produced by ACM using a standardized due-diligence framework and are available for purchase separately from ACM Marketplace access.
ACM Transparent Trade Facilitation refers to ACM’s role in supporting cocoa transactions between buyers and sellers. ACM does not buy or sell cocoa and never takes ownership of product. Instead, ACM supports communication, assists with negotiation, and helps coordinate logistics, documentation, and payment processes so that trades proceed transparently and efficiently.
ACM Assurance Add-Ons are optional services that provide buyers with deeper insight or additional validation beyond the ACM Marketplace and ACM Verification Reports. These may include pre-trade quality assessments, chocolate flavor analysis, sustainable pricing exercises, or content creation. ACM Assurance Add-Ons are offered separately and tailored to buyer needs.
A seller is a business entity offering cocoa or cocoa-derived products for sale in domestic or international markets. Sellers may include cooperatives, buying groups, aggregators, exporters, or processors, and may source cocoa directly from farmers or through other supply-chain businesses. Individual farmers do not appear as sellers on the ACM Marketplace.
An aggregator or buying organization is a business that purchases cocoa from farmers or organizes cocoa for sale, including through licensed buyers, often coordinating collection, post-harvest handling, and preparation for trade. These organizations are the first structured point in the cocoa supply chain and play a critical role in traceability, quality control, and farmer engagement.
A buyer is an organization or individual seeking to source cocoa or cocoa products for commercial, investment, research, or programmatic purposes. Buyers may include chocolate makers, traders, processors, retailers, NGOs, research institutions, or investors. Buyers access the ACM Marketplace through a paid subscription.
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