Global Tea and Commodities is a major supplier of raw tea to Pakistan and also exports processed goods to the UK. Rhodrick Kalumpha, group financial controller, discusses the company’s use of trade finance and a recent push to digitise trade documents through a partnership with Lloyds Bank and Swedish fintech Enigio.
Snapshot:
Name: Rhodrick Kalumpha
Company: Global Tea and Commodities
Title: Group financial controller
Country: UK
Sector: Soft commodities
GTR: Could you provide some background about your company’s history and its current operations?
Kalumpha: The company is a family-owned business and is one of the largest privately-owned, fully integrated commodities business. Formed in 1991, the firm has grown over the years and today has about 4,500 personnel across the UK, Africa and India. Tea is the largest component of our business, worth about 95% in terms of revenue and involves the trading of raw products and processed goods.
We have been the largest buyer on the Kenyan tea auction for the past five years, procuring about 70 million kilogrammes of tea annually. Most of that tea is shipped in bulk to a major company in Pakistan, which then processes the tea and sells to consumers in the local market. We also have our own label in Kenya, Kericho Gold, and are increasingly trading processed tea into the UK.
Separately, we also grow coffee and macadamia in Malawi and have some of the largest plantations in the country. Much of this output is sold in Europe and America, and a tiny portion to Japan.
GTR: What is the landscape like for your firm’s supply chains currently?
Kalumpha: It’s been really difficult the past few years, especially since the Israel-Gaza war erupted. Most of our tea is coming from Kenya and must pass through the Gulf of Aden where Houthi rebels continue to pose a threat. A journey which used to take us maybe four weeks, now sometimes take us up to 70 days. It’s been problematic.
For Pakistan, our supply chains are okay. But within our tea business, we pack for the major supermarkets in the UK. We established operations within an economic processing zone in Mombasa and here we process tea into a finished product for the UK market. Now that’s where the disruption has come in.
GTR: What type of trade finance products and facilities does Global Tea tend to use?
Kalumpha: We are heavily reliant on letters of credit for our trade into Pakistan because they offer a quick turnaround in terms of cash. You log the documents with the bank and quickly receive the money. For shipments to the UK, which account for about 10% of our business and are growing, we also rely on trade finance. Documents are lodged through the bank in Kenya and are sent to the UK, with financing provided once all the documents are checked and everything is in order.
For our shipments to Pakistan, we work with banks in Kenya such as Stanbic and Absa. In the UK, we are also working with Habib Bank AG Zurich and Habib Bank Limited, banks we originally worked alongside in Pakistan and have had a working relationship with for a long period of time.
GTR: In terms of the supply chain disruptions you previously mentioned, have these impacted your trade finance requirements at all?
Kalumpha: Yes, they certainly have. We are in a situation where the goods are coming in much later so there’s a funding gap between us having the product and the customer paying us. Trade finance has become critical in that area and provided us with financial breathing space.
GTR: It was recently announced that Global Tea has started utilising an Enigio solution for shipments between Africa and the UK. When did Global Tea first decide to adopt digital trade documents and what has the process been like?
Kalumpha: Our business volumes have grown in recent years, and as a result, the number of trade documents were becoming difficult to manage.
We were reliant on manual, physical couriers, which can be very expensive and takes too long.
Last year, we started looking at various avenues for cutting the time on documents sent from Kenya to the UK. Lloyds was the ideal partner because they already understood our business; we have been banking with them for quite some time. Conversations then took place with our bank in Kenya and our shipping line, Maersk, and everything fell into place.
Our first transaction was in March 2025 and we have now largely stopped using paper for our Kenya-UK tea shipments, slashing the documentation processing time from seven days to 24 hours.
My colleagues in Mombasa prepare the documents and shipment, approach the correspondent bank in Kenya through Enigio’s trace:original solution and then load all the necessary documents. Maersk is then contacted to issue the bill of lading, and Lloyds also, for handling of the bill of exchange or promissory note. Lloyds does not issue the financial negotiable instruments and is solely responsible for drafting them. Once the bank has conducted its checks and due diligence, the documents are sent to my office for a final review and signing.
With paper, we would have to prepare the documents and ensure the shipping line in Mombasa has printed the bill of lading, given it to a courier, and it could take about three days for the bill of lading to arrive in the UK.
GTR: What proportion of your trade documents are digitised today?
Kalumpha: Everything that is sent from Mombasa to the UK, accounting for about 10% of our business, has largely now been digitised and no longer requires paper – apart from when we send the final document. As a result, our carbon footprint on this leg of our business has been drastically reduced.
In the future, we might also look at digitising documents for shipments from Malawi where we are the largest exporter of coffee and macadamia nuts. The only challenge is we need to have a willing partner in terms of the freight providers. We know Maersk can accept digital documents, but we need to assess whether our other freight providers are open to the idea and using digital solutions.
GTR: From your perspective, what are the main challenges that are limiting widespread adoption of digital trade documents?
Kalumpha: Traditionally, the bill of lading has been viewed as the most important document and people always want to have it and literally feel it in their hands. Many companies may feel apprehensive about electronic bills of lading, and ask: ‘How can I trust this system?’ Without the bill of lading, a company does not have title to their goods. In my view, a major challenge will be the attitude of companies and their willingness to embrace a modern way of doing business. At Global Tea, led by our founder and chairman Nadeem Ahmed, together with our group finance director Michael McBrien, we are streamlining and digitising most of our trading processes, thereby ensuring our carbon footprint is really low. However, I must admit it will be a big task convincing many corporates to follow, but for us, we believe this is the way and this is the future of trade finance.
