Connexus is off to a good start on its Smallholder Farmers in Evolution project with ECOM Colombia. As one of the largest coffee buyers in the world, ECOM buys from hundreds of thousands of smallholders globally and has contracted Connexus to help them finance smallholder coffee production in Colombia.
Connexus has developed a finance transition plan for ECOM, located local and international finance partners and begun the process of developing a pilot lending program that can eventually be scaled throughout Colombia and globally in ECOM’s coffee and cocoa supply chains. By facilitating finance to smallholders, the burden of smallholder financing will eventually be lifted off ECOM and allow them to concentrate on their core business: ensuring and sourcing quality soft commodities for their customers that include Starbucks, S&D Coffee and Green Mountain Coffee to name a few. ECOM’s management recently praised Connexus for its client-focused approach to consulting. Connexus has several private sector clients, like ECOM, for which our team provides innovative solutions to real private sector problems.