Our Story

A Legacy of Excellence

with the heart of a family

Great Lakes Coffee is a green coffee sourcing, milling and exporting company. We are a leading family owned business in East Africa, with over 60 years of coffee trading heritage.

60 years

of coffee heritage

9.4 million

sales turnover per year

4,4

tonnes

export green per year

17k

MaxTRACE

registered farmers

The Nicolaides family have been involved in coffee in Africa for three generations, starting out as farmers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Today, the family owns and operates Great Lakes Coffee (GLC), a Uganda-based green coffee sourcing, milling and exporting company. GLC builds community wet mills, creates access to finance, provides training for farmers and pays for the certification of smallholder farmer groups.

1927

1940s-1950s

Mr. Vrasidas Nicolaides & Mr. Andreas Odyseos immigrate from Cyprus to Belgian Congo (ex Zaire, now DRC) in search for a better life and settle in Eastern DRC to raise their young families.

Set up various general trading companies in the Belgian Congo.

1965

Establish 1st coffee business PLANOKI (Plantation de Nord Kivu) in Beni, DRC.