From Farm to Market: How GCC 2026 Connected Women Coffee Producers with Global Markets

On the morning of 23 September, more than 250 coffee buyers, roasters, policymakers, analysts, and producers from over 17 countries around the world gathered among the coffee trees of KOPAKAKI Dutegure Cooperative in Karongi District and Nyampinga Women's Cooperative in Nyaruguru District, Rwanda. They had come to understand what it takes to bring coffee from the farm to the cup. The women of both cooperatives led them through the process, from planting the coffee trees to harvesting, processing, and preparing coffee for export.

The Global Coffee Conference (GCC) 2026 began at origin, not in a conference hall. Before discussions on trade, quality, finance, and the future of the coffee sector began in Kigali, delegates saw the businesses behind the coffee they buy, roast, finance, and regulate.

For the women who hosted them, the visits were an opportunity to share their expertise, demonstrate their operations, and engage directly with people who influence their access to markets. For buyers and other industry stakeholders, they offered a closer look at the production systems, people, and relationships behind the coffee. This was the starting point for three days of conversations about a shared challenge: how to build lasting trade relationships that recognise the work of producers while meeting the demands of international markets.

Beginning where the coffee is grown

Opening the conference at origin placed women coffee producers at the centre of the conversation. On their farms and at their washing stations, they were the hosts and the experts, explaining their practices, answering questions, and sharing their experiences of running coffee businesses.

The visits revealed businesses whose significance extends beyond coffee production. Delegates learned about savings groups, income diversification, health insurance through Mutuelle de Santé, long-term savings through EjoHeza, and dividends paid to cooperative members.

These activities form part of the wider economic picture of rural coffee-producing communities. Coffee quality and productivity matter, but so do the systems that help women manage income, save for the future, and sustain their households.

By starting at origin, GCC 2026 grounded the discussions that followed in the realities of the people whose work sustains the coffee value chain.

Building trust between producers and buyers

The district leadership of Karongi and Nyaruguru joined the visits, reflecting the role of local government in supporting coffee-producing communities and strengthening the sector.

Speaking on behalf of Karongi District, Vice Mayor in charge of Social Welfare, Pascasie Umuhoza, highlighted the value of bringing producers and potential clients together.

“The important thing is that producers have the opportunity to engage directly with clients, and there is a huge opportunity behind that which should be tapped into,” she said.

For buyers, these visits offered an opportunity to understand not only the coffee itself but also the cooperatives producing it. Delphine Chassaigne, a coffee buyer at Destination France, explained why long-term relationships matter to her business.

“When we work with a cooperative over a long period, we are confident that we will continue receiving coffee with consistent quality, similar to what we bought before. That is more important to us than buying coffee just once,” she said.

Understanding what global markets require

Building a relationship with a buyer is an important first step. Sustaining it requires the quality, documentation, and commercial systems that allow a cooperative to meet its commitments At GCC 2026, discussions brought producers together with certifiers, financiers, policymakers, and other supply-chain actors to examine the requirements of reliable, long-term trade.

Viateur Nsengumuremyi of Progresso added that long-term buyer contracts can also strengthen a cooperative's case when seeking financing.

Together, these perspectives highlighted how different parts of the value chain influence a cooperative's ability to grow its business. Quality must be supported by reliable records, traceability, sound management, and an understanding of contractual obligations. Access to finance, in turn, can help cooperatives invest in the systems and infrastructure needed to meet market requirements.

For women leading coffee businesses, understanding these expectations can strengthen their ability to engage with buyers, assess opportunities, and make informed decisions about the future of their cooperatives.

Market access, therefore, is not simply about finding someone willing to buy coffee. It is about building the capacity, relationships, and commercial conditions needed to sustain that trade.

GCC 2026 began among the coffee trees of Karongi and Nyaruguru and continued in Kigali, where producers engaged with buyers, roasters, financiers, certifiers, policymakers, and other industry stakeholders. Across the three days, the conference brought the realities of coffee production into conversations about trade, quality, finance, and the future of the sector. It also created opportunities for women-led cooperatives to share their work directly with people who can influence how their coffee reaches the market.

The next step is to build on those connections: sustaining buyer relationships, exploring sourcing opportunities, strengthening production and processing systems, and ensuring that the value generated through trade recognises the contribution of producers.

Sustainable Growers continues to work alongside women coffee farmers and their cooperatives to strengthen productivity, market access, and commercial partnerships. The relationships initiated through GCC 2026 provide a foundation on which that work can continue.

Because lasting market access is not measured by the conversations held during a conference, but by the opportunities and partnerships that grow from them.