Nespresso is investing US$20 million to revive the specialty coffee industry in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by 2026.
The investment will cover coffee purchases, price premiums, technical assistance, community projects, and support to help coffee farmers access global markets.
Nespresso is aiming to help raise an additional US$20 million to support coffee-growing communities in Kivu in the DRC.
“Kivu has the potential to be among the world’s great coffee regions, but has faced extremely challenging conditions in recent years,” says Nespresso CEO Cuillaume Le Cunff.
This initiative is part of the Nespresso Reviving Origins program, which was created 10 years ago in order to help restore coffee production in regions where it is under threat.
“Through our Reviving Origins program, we work closely with Congolese farmers,” says Le Cunff.
“We have joined forces with several partners, including the Eastern Congo Initiative (ECI)/ASILI, TechnoServe, the US Agency for International Development (USAID), The Global Environment Facility (GEF), Clarmondial, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Virunga Coffee, to restore and revitalize Kivu as a leading source of high-quality, exceptional Arabica coffee.”
Nespresso’s sustainable coffee sourcing program, the Nespresso AAA Sustainable Quality Program, provides the foundation for the work in the Reviving Origins program. For 20 years, the AAA Program has built relationships with coffee farmers across the world to protect nature in landscapes where coffee is grown and to strengthen communities’ resilience.
Nespresso will further deploy the AAA Program in the DRC and support farmers there in implementing regenerative practices, such as crop diversification, stumping, soil health improvement and agroforestry.
