IWCA Sustaining Partner Programs
Align your support with meaningful impact, global equity, and the future of coffee.
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As a Sustaining Friend, your support strengthens the foundation of IWCA’s mission. This level is ideal for individuals, small businesses, or organizations who value equity in coffee and want to stay connected to a global network driving positive change for women across the supply chain.
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Bronze Partners are mission-aligned allies committed to progress. Your partnership supports practical, high-impact programs led by IWCA Chapters and connects your organization to a global movement focused on sustainability, inclusion, and community-led development—where your values meet measurable results and real relationships.
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Silver Partners demonstrate a clear commitment to equity and sustainability in coffee. Your support helps drive community-led programs, grow leadership opportunities for women, and build long-term resilience across the value chain. This level reflects shared purpose and a belief in meaningful, lasting change through collective action.
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Gold Partners demonstrate leadership through action. This level provides strategic visibility, high-trust collaboration opportunities, and shared storytelling that reinforces your company’s values. Your commitment advances global equity while strengthening your brand’s connection to meaningful, transparent, and community-rooted supply chains.
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Platinum Partners are values-driven leaders committed to transforming the coffee industry through equity and collaboration. Your partnership fuels IWCA’s global impact while aligning your brand with measurable change, community investment, and purpose-driven leadership. This level reflects a deep, long-term commitment to building a more inclusive coffee future.
Support IWCA
The International Women’s Coffee Alliance exists to empower women in the international coffee industry by supporting a growing network of local Chapters and global partnerships. Whether you’re a coffee professional, company, donor, or ally, there are many ways to get involved.
Your support helps women lead at every point of the coffee value chain—from seed to cup.
About IWCA
The International Women's Coffee Alliance (IWCA) is a global network of chapters in 35+ coffee-producing and -consuming countries. Our mission is to empower women in the international coffee community to achieve meaningful and sustainable lives through access to resources, education, and market visibility.
What Sustaining Partners Make Possible
Sustaining partners provide critical financial support that powers the year-round work of IWCA Global. From strategic programs and chapter development to global conventions and capacity-building tools, your support enables us to build a more inclusive and equitable coffee industry.
As a global organization, we achieve empowerment through leadership development, strategic partnership, and amplified market visibility. Find more in-depth stories about the impact of our programs and partnerships in these resources:
IWCA facilitates organizational partnerships with other multi-stakeholder organizations, including African Fine Coffees Association (AFCA), International Coffee Organization (ICO), National Coffee Association (NCA), Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), World Coffee Alliance (World Coffee Alliance), International Labour Organization, International Trade Centre.
IWCA Values
Respect - Every woman has a unique and valid voice; therefore, the IWCA respects every person and their ideas.
Sustainability - The IWCA supports programs that foster harmony of environmental, social and economic impact.
Equity - The IWCA supports programs that encourage the equitable allocation of resources in the world.
Integrity - Serving women in coffee is the ultimate goal of the IWCA and to further this goal, all decisions are made with honesty and integrity.
Collaboration - Communities hold the solutions to their own problems, therefore the best way to impact these communities is through collaboration and partnership.
Empowerment - The IWCA supports actions that strengthen women to realize their full potential.
Inclusion - The IWCA supports the inclusion of all - men, women, and youth - working together to achieve positive impact through empowered communities.
IWCA Case Studies
As a locally-driven, globally-connected empowerment organization, our definition impact is defined by those who achieve it. The IWCA Case Studies demonstrate the community impact of empowering women, including progress toward several UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Africa
Asia
Philippines: Women’s Leadership Creates Pathway to Peace
Philippines: Returning to Coffee Farming Builds a Future
North & Central america
El Salvador: Affordable Credit Fuels Entrepreneurial Success
Guatemala: Coffee Grafting Grows Women’s Empowerment
New! Honduras: Leading Change Through Partnerships
South America
New! Peru: Paving the Path for ALL Baristas in Peru
Please visit the IWCA Chapters List page to connect directly with IWCA Chapter Leaders or contact our team.
**Photo above courtesy of Jeanine Niyonzima, JNP Coffees and Burundi Friends International
Global Connections, Local Projects
Examples of active projects occurring across the IWCA Global Network include those listed below. To learn how you can support these or other projects in development, please visit our Chapter Project Publication.
Empowering Women in Coffee: Caribou Coffee’s Impact in Ethiopia
In November 2024, Caribou Coffee awarded a USD 5,000 grant to Women in Coffee Ethiopia. The funding supported a seven‑day Basic Business and Life Skills Training for 33 women, equipping them with practical tools for economic independence and leadership. It also funded a General Assembly and Board Transition Ceremony, ensuring transparent governance and a strong foundation for future growth. This partnership demonstrates how targeted support empowers women in coffee to thrive and lead change within their communities.
Higher Ground: Uplifting Women in the Jamaican Coffee Industry
Higher Ground is a multi-year project to assist Jamaican women producers with coffee quality improvements and sustainable farming practices, business and marketing skills, and leadership capacity building that will empower the coffee community and ensure appreciation of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee grown by women farmers. By combining the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) best practices and go-to-market strategies with leadership training and certification of Q Grader and Q Processing professionals, the members of Jamaican Women in Coffee (JaWiC) - a chapter of IWCA - will improve quality and develop internal, self-sustaining leadership capacity to gain international coffee market appeal for their specialty coffee. This is a pivotal moment in history, one shaped by a pandemic and recognition of inequities borne by Black people, to support success of women in the coffee industry. When women succeed in business, the entire community benefits. Learn more about JaWiC’s projects. To become a lead or major donor, please contact Andrea Johnson, JaWiC Board President. The Field Study Report which captures the baseline summary of challenges facing women in coffee in Jamaica is available here.
Partnering for Business and Financial Literacy
Through a project with Food Enterprise Solutions (FES), Earth’s Choice Organic Coffee and Rotary International, the business literacy training manual, “Women in Coffee Microfinance Learning Loan Program” is now available in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese to all IWCA Chapter Members. The Learning Loan Manual supports fundraising for revolving loans and provides pre-, mid-, and post-loan training in business and financial literacy. The approach empowers women by building their business skills while providing them access to affordable loans. Built on the Grameen Bank “group loan” model, the project has a 98% repayment rate to date! FES will be working with IWCA, Earth’s Choice, and Rotary International to launch a virtual training series based on this curriculum. A PDF of The Learning Loan Manual is available for a minimum donation of US$20 to the IWCA, link here.
IWCA El Salvador & International Partner Tackle KEY Environmental Challenges
In August 2019, the IWCA El Salvador Chapter, also known as the Alianza de Mujeres en Café de El Salvador (AMCES), signed an agreement of collaboration with the Holland-Salvadoran Chamber of Commerce to work together to support two AMCES projects focused on environmental issues. Project 1 focuses on plastics recycling, reuse, and reduction. Project 2 focuses on soil-related climate change mitigation techniques. Both projects seek to build community engagement and knowledge transfer. For more information, or to join this effort, review the summary (link here) or contact Maria Botto, IWCA El Salvador Chapter President.
IWCA Dominican Republic & Caffe Vergnano seek to develop Local Roasting Capacity
Through the 2017 IWCA Global Leadership Summit process, the IWCA Dominican Republic Chapter developed a project proposal to create a roasting facility that would build local roasting capacity, as well as support local consumption of high quality coffee. The project requires securing the appropriate facilities and equipment, as well as technical training in coffee, business, and other skills.
Inspired by the 2018 International Coffee Day theme, “Women in Coffee”, Caffe Vergnano in Turino, Italy, reached out to the IWCA. In January 2019, Caffe Vergnano launched the Women in Coffee Pink Capsule Collection campaign to support a project developed by the IWCA Dominican Republic to build women’s capacity to roast and sell coffees locally. In January 2020, Carolina Vergnano shared with the IWCA that €11,000 had been raised, and that they are preparing the roaster for March 2020 delivery to the Dominican Republic.
IWCA Brasil Brings Visibility to Women in Coffee across brasil
Launch of English version hosted by NCA at ICO September 2018 Meeting
In partnership with Embrapa, support provided by Solidaridad, IWCA Global, and UN Women, IWCA Brasil published their much-anticipated and innovative compilation of perspectives of women in coffee communities across all of Brazil’s coffee regions.
The 17 chapter book is written by 40 Brazilian research working from 11 different organizations, including several leading universities. The result is an unprecedented and in-depth effort to bring visibility to and understanding of Brazil’s diverse peoples and cultures within coffee. Each chapter includes unique approaches, ranging from intimate interviews focused on family life to data-driven analysis of cooperatives.
These publications are published as ePub files. To read them, use or download one of the following free software options to your computer or mobile device. Android: Google Play Books; IOS: iBooks; Windows and Linux: Calibre.
IWCA Rwanda Chapter launches new Women’s Cooperative
Through a partnership with the IWCA, the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe (SCAE) provided seed funding to the IWCA Rwanda Chapter to develop a new women’s cooperative approach in the Rulindo area of Rwanda. The multi-year project includes the purchase of land, and partnerships with a local washing station. Other key partners include the International Trade Centre (ITC), World Coffee Research, and Sustainable Harvest.
In April 2018, IWCA Rwanda Chapter President, Angelique Karkezi shared a project overview at the IWCA Breakfast at the SCA Expo in Portland, available here.
