Light Years IP

Light Years IP creates innovative business solutions for poor farmers and producers to dramatically improve their income for the long-term. We enable the use of Intellectual Property business tools such as trademarks, high end brand creation and licensing alongside repositioning and ownership of import companies.

Africa farmers and producers create amazing and distinctive products but receive only about 2-5% of retail prices. We empower Africans to own Intellectual Property through high-end brands, trademarks and licenses to create much higher and more sustainable income.  This coupled with ownership of companies and import companies to control the supply chain  enables $100million per year more income per product.

Our initiative for Ethiopian coffee farmers brought a $101million increased income to fine coffee farmers and we are busy replicating that success across Africa.  

Some of our initiatives include:

> Enabling 2 million Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania to organize and own their cultural brand, used by over 1,000 companies.  The return to the Maasai will be long-term licensing income.
> Creation of a high end nilotica shea butter for Ugandan and S. Sudanese women
> Entrepreneurial education in IP business and repositioning across East Africa, taught to trade ministers, stakeholders and farmer/producer groups. IP Business 101, 202 and 303 teaches IP business strategies; research in products; feasibility and business planning; African ownership of import companies; IP tools; marketing and repositioning.
> Enabling the same IP business repositioning strategy that worked for Ethiopia to work for 4-5 distinctive products per country at $100million more income return per year/ product.
> Creation of an African IP Trust to support African stakeholders as they regain control over their own products (www.africaniptrust.org)