Month: September 2025

The Progreso Fund is expanding its team! We are seeking a skilled and motivated Credit Analyst (32–40 hrs/week) to support our social lending initiatives across Latin America, Africa, and Asia. This is an exciting opportunity to combine financial expertise with a commitment to sustainable development and rural livelihoods.

Location: Peru, Colombia, Nicaragua, or the Netherlands (flexible arrangements possible).
Application deadline: 17 October 2025.

About the Progreso Fund

The Progreso Fund facilitates first-time loans for coffee and cocoa producer organizations, often below the thresholds of traditional social lenders. By providing access to trade finance and microcredits, we help strengthen producer organizations and enable smallholder farmers to grow into sustainable, professional businesses. Our lending activities are closely connected to Progreso Foundation’s technical assistance programs, allowing us to combine financial access with long-term capacity development.

The Role of Credit Analyst

As a Credit Analyst, you will:

• Conduct financial and credit risk assessments of potential beneficiaries.
• Monitor portfolio performance and support mitigation strategies.
• Collaborate with regional teams to identify new opportunities and strengthen partnerships.
• Contribute to the development of credit policies and training for program staff.

This position offers international exposure, the chance to work across cultures and regions, and the opportunity to make a tangible impact in coffee and cocoa supply chains.

Who We Are Looking For

We are looking for a candidate with:

• A degree in Finance, Economics, Business Administration, or a related field.
• 3–5 years of experience in credit analysis, financial analysis, or risk assessment.
• A strong interest in agricultural or development finance.
• Excellent cross-cultural communication skills and fluency in English (Spanish strongly preferred).

What We Offer

• A meaningful role in making the coffee and cocoa sectors more sustainable.
• Flexible working arrangements and international collaboration.
• An entrepreneurial and impact-focused working environment.

How to Apply

Interested? Submit your CV and cover letter to admin@progreso.nl.

For the full ToR, please see here

This month marked an important milestone for the coffee sector and for Beyco. Busongora Coffee in Uganda and Val & Tin Coffee Gardens in Switzerland have signed a purchase contract on our platform. At first glance, it may appear to be just another trade agreement, but in reality, it is so much more!

The contract demonstrates how farmer organizations and buyers can already meet the requirements of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). Thanks to the Beyco farmer platform, the agreement includes geo-data traceability down to the level of individual plots and households, ensuring that the coffee can be traced back to its exact origin. At the same time, financial and value chain data were exported directly from the platform, giving all actors insight into the numbers behind the trade. Even the financing conditions were made visible, clearly showing who funded the contract and under what terms.

By bringing all of this together in a single document, Busongora and Val & Tin have gone beyond compliance. They have shown that traceability and transparency do not have to be obstacles, but can instead be tools to strengthen trust and inclusion across the value chain. This achievement is not only a step toward EUDR readiness, but also a glimpse into the kind of fairer, more sustainable coffee trade that digital platforms like Beyco make possible. 

Brian Masereka, Beyco Implementation Officer Uganda:  “Beyco means Beyond coffee in the context of the coffee industry, By signing this contract on beyco and visibly showing the various aspects of the value chain, the buyer is giving the consumers more than just coffee, he is allowing them the opportunity to interact with origin stories and see various aspects of the value chain. I suppose that if you know the true story of your coffee, it can never taste the same because you see it just beyond the coffee in the cup.”

Visualizing coffee contracts on Beyco

Behind every signed contract on the Beyco Platform lies a story. The recent purchase agreement between Busongora Coffee in Uganda and Val & Tin Coffee Gardens in Switzerland is no exception, and this time, the story is made visible in a new way.

On Beyco, the contract is more than a set of signatures. It captures the trust built between farmers and buyers, while also making the often-invisible parts of a trade relationship clear for everyone to see. For example, the financing behind the contract is displayed transparently, showing how access to trade finance made the deal possible. Financial and value chain data, exported from the farmer platform, add another layer of openness that builds confidence among all parties. And thanks to geo-data collected at the plot and household level, the origin of the coffee can be traced with unprecedented precision.

What makes this so significant is not only the technology itself, but the signal it sends: contracts on Beyco can become living documents that tell the full story of a trade, from the household level in Uganda to a roasting company in Switzerland. This visualization of trust, data, and traceability sets a benchmark for the sector, showing how digital platforms can reshape the way coffee is traded and valued. 

Ayub Asingataba, Program Manager – East Africa: “Beyco is not just a platform; it is a bridge that connects farmers to the global market. Through robust data management, full traceability, and EUDR compliance, it gives cooperatives the credibility buyers demand while securing fairer opportunities for farmers. With Beyco, origin stories gain visibility, trust is strengthened, and farmers’ coffee earns its rightful place on the world stage.”