Nespresso Puts $20M into Reviving Specialty Coffee Production

Nespresso is investing USD 20 million in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to revive specialty coffee by 2026.

The investment will cover coffee purchases, price premiums, technical assistance, and community projects, as well as support to help coffee farmers access global markets. Nespresso's ambition is also to help raise an additional $20 million to support coffee-growing communities in Kivu in the DRC.

In 1980, coffee was the second most important export for the DRC, and coffee from the country ranked among the world's finest. Supply declined in the early 2000s, however, due to years of instability that had a devastating impact on the industry. The 2020 launch of the Nespresso Reviving Origins program in the DRC has helped revive coffee production in the Lake Kivu region.

"Kivu has the potential to be among the world's great coffee regions, but has faced extremely challenging conditions in recent years. Through our Reviving Origins program, we work closely with Congolese farmers," said Guillaume Le Cunff, CEO Nespresso. "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 of the Reviving Origins program. For 20 years, the AAA Program has built strong relationships with coffee farmers across the world to protect nature and life in landscapes where coffee is grown and to strengthen communities' resilience.

The company 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. Via the AAA Program, Nespresso will also implement a biodiversity tracking tool using DRC unique birdlife.