Hi Wax Moth, thanks for the advice, yes I had heard about cheap top bar hives, but I need to learn a lot about different beekeeping technologies.
My focus is on problematic zones in dirt-poor countries: the Democratic Republic of Congo (world's poorest country), the Central African Republic and South Sudan. People there have difficulty bringing agricultural goods to market, because infrastructures are so poor. Transport costs are therefor very high. Honey is a highly valuable product, fetching a good price, so these high transportation costs might be partially offset and honey might seriously improve rural livelihoods.
I also have an exclusive idea to produce the world's most exclusive honey, but I will tell more about this later! ;)
Are you active in Africa yourself?