Melissa Patiño Pérez is Progreso’s new Country Manager for Colombia

Melissa Patiño Pérez doesn’t separate the environmental from the human. In over a decade working in rural development, climate adaptation, and value chain strengthening, she’s learned that the two are inseparable and that’s the lens she brings to her new role as Progreso’s Country Manager for Colombia.

An environmental engineer with a Master’s in Environment and Development, Melissa has spent her career on the ground, alongside communities, cooperatives, and institutions navigating the real tensions between agricultural production and ecosystem health. Her work has spanned climate change adaptation, regenerative agriculture, food security, and value chain development, always oriented toward the same question: how do we make sustainability generate genuine opportunity for the people and territories involved?

In her new role, she’s particularly drawn to the potential she sees in Colombia’s coffee and cacao sectors, not just as economic engines, but as spaces where the right kind of support can meaningfully shift conditions for rural families. She comes to Progreso as eager to learn from the cooperatives and communities she’ll work with as to contribute her own experience.

Outside of work, Melissa leads a book club, something that tells you as much about her as her CV does. She sees reading as a way of inhabiting other worlds and perspectives, and considers it one of the things that keeps her genuinely empathetic in work that asks you to understand many different realities at once.

We’re glad she’s here.

A new face in Peru: meet Omar Martinez Martinez

Omar Martinez Martinez has spent the last six years in the coffee sector doing the kind of work that doesn’t make headlines but quietly moves things forward: technical assistance, project monitoring, hands-on support for producer organisations. Now he’s bringing that experience to Progreso as our new Agroforestry Specialist in Peru.

What drew him here is simple: a shared belief that real, lasting change in rural communities comes through solutions that are both sustainable and inclusive. In his own words:

“I joined Progreso because I share its vision of generating a positive impact in rural communities through sustainable and inclusive solutions for agriculture.”

In his new role, he’s looking to keep growing, deepening his knowledge of the sector while contributing to the projects Progreso drives forward. Expect him to be involved in technical follow-up, work with producer organisations, and generating the kind of solid, grounded information that helps teams make good decisions.

Outside of work, Omar is a football fan (both on and off the pitch) and shares his home with Royce, his dog and a firmly non-negotiable part of the family.

Good to have you on board, Omar.

Meet Miurel Fargas, Beyco Implementation Officer in Nicaragua

Miurel Fargas brings something special to the Beyco team: years of hands-on experience in Nicaragua’s northern coffee zone, working directly with farmers in the field and supporting the commercial cooperatives that bring their coffee to market.

Her background spans the full arc of the coffee value chain, from farm-level technical assistance, visiting producers plot by plot, to accompanying and strengthening marketing organizations. That grounded, relational approach is exactly what the Beyco Implementation Officer role calls for.

For Miurel, joining Progreso is a chance to deepen her connection with producer organizations while introducing a new kind of tool: the Beyco Farmer app, a digital solution built to support smallholder farmers and the cooperatives that serve them.

We’re glad to have her on the team.

Welcome to the team, David!

Progreso Foundation is pleased to welcome a new Project Manager to our team, someone whose path into agricultural development was never a detour, but always the destination.

Rooted from the start in a world where agriculture shapes daily life, our newest colleague built a career guided by a single conviction: that agricultural development must be people-centered, structured, and adapted to local contexts. A Master’s in Management of Agropastoral Enterprises and Organizations gave that conviction a framework; years in the field, with the Ministry of Agriculture, MIRAH, Action Against Hunger, and GIZ, gave it depth.

Across those experiences, the thread remained consistent: analyzing value chains, supporting farmers, and contributing to initiatives that improve agricultural systems in lasting ways. Joining Progreso, he tells us, feels like a natural continuation of that journey.

What motivates him most? Seeing projects come to life on the ground, create real value, and improve the living conditions of communities. That is precisely the kind of energy we want around this work.

Outside the office, he writes, sometimes poetry inspired by rural life, plays football, volunteers, and tends a small garden. We have a feeling all of that will find its way into his work here too.

Welcome to the team, Armand!

We are excited to welcome Kouassi Armand as the new Beyco Officer Côte d’Ivoire, joining us with more than ten years of field experience across West Africa.

Armand’s background spans two worlds that rarely meet in one person: technical agroforestry and rural finance. He has worked as an agricultural client officer at Advans Côte d’Ivoire and as a field supervisor with ICRAF, building a practice around accompanying farmers, strengthening production systems, and promoting sustainable agriculture that delivers real economic and environmental results.

It is that appetite for initiative and new challenges, he tells us, that brought him to Progreso, and we are glad it did.

Welcome, Armand. We look forward to what we will build together.

Welcome to the team, Guy!

We are happy to welcome Guy Laurent Boko as our newest team member, joining us from Côte d’Ivoire.

Guy brings over a decade of hands-on experience in cocoa agriculture, most recently with CEMOI Côte d’Ivoire, where he led the agronomic department and managed fresh cocoa fermentation centers in Sassandra and Abengourou. That combination of field expertise and operational leadership makes him a natural fit for the work we do alongside farming communities.

When we asked Guy what drew him to Progreso, his answer said it all: a deep passion for agricultural communities and a genuine belief in their potential. “I want to participate in this transformation,” he told us, “because I am passionate about agricultural communities and their well-being.“

Outside of work, Guy enjoys music, football, and exploring new places, and we sure hope the Progreso world gives him plenty of all three.

We are thrilled to have him on board and look forward to everything he will bring to this work.

What does it actually take to access finance as a cocoa cooperative in Indonesia?

The answer, for most, is: more than they currently have. Not more ambition. Not more cocoa. More structure, more documentation, and a clearer picture of their own business than most have ever been asked to produce.

That gap, between how cooperatives operate and what financial systems require, is what brought seven cooperatives together in late April for a two-day training on business planning and financial management. They came from across the archipelago: Jembrana and Tabanan in Bali, Ende in Flores, and Poso, Luwu Utara, Kolaka Timur, and Sikka in Sulawesi, all partners in TRACTION, a programme run by Rikolto Indonesia, Rainforest Alliance, and Kalimajari to improve livelihoods for small-scale cocoa farmers. Progreso was invited to deliver the training.

The cooperative model is not new to these communities. But the model only works if the people running it understand their numbers, and in many cases, that understanding is still being built.

Erwin Novianto, Progreso’s Programme Manager for Indonesia, opened with business planning: not documents filed in a drawer, but working tools. Supply chain maps showing where value is created and where it leaks. Seasonal calendars tracking when cash pressure peaks. Risk assessments that make the invisible visible. Two cooperatives presented draft plans to the group, which opened up a conversation no slide deck fully anticipates. Someone observed, plainly, that the financial system is not built for cooperatives like theirs. The room agreed.

That observation is worth sitting with. Loan processes are complex, collateral requirements unrealistic, and even when financing comes through, the timing or amount often misses what a cooperative actually needs during buying season. The barrier is not always the availability of money, it is the mismatch between when cooperatives need it and what lenders require to say yes.

Siske Annisa, Progreso’s Financial and Business Adviser, led the financial management sessions: how operations show up in financial records, basic accounting, how to read what the figures actually mean for decisions. One thing surfaced clearly: most cooperatives will need ongoing coaching to get their reporting and administration where it needs to be. The training gave them a foundation. The work continues.

Every cooperative left with the beginnings of a business plan and a working knowledge of accounting they did not have before. That might sound modest. But for groups navigating a system not designed for them, having the language and tools to make their case is not a small thing, it is where the possibility of a different relationship with finance begins.

Welcome, Siske, to Progreso!

As Progreso team, we are happy to welcome our new colleague, Siske Annisa, who joins us as Financial & Business Advisor – Indonesia. Siske brings over a decade of experience in finance and accounting within the non-profit sector.

Throughout her career, she have worked on strengthening financial systems, from restructuring accounting processes to improving audit outcomes, managing tax, and supporting partners with clear financial guidelines and hands-on technical assistance. Her work has consistently focused on helping organizations become more solid, transparent, and effective.

As she told us, her motivation to join Progreso is closely tied to this focus. “What led me to Progreso is that you are working directly with farmers for sustainable supply chains, which is something that has been my interest,” she explained.

In her new role, she is looking forward to working closely with cooperatives and contributing to their development. “I’m hoping I can collaborate and use my skills to help cooperatives become better organizations and support the investment side, while also learning along the way.”

Beyond her professional experience, she brings a few personal habits that might already feel familiar to all of us: handwritten notes during meetings to keep track of details, a steady supply of snacks at their desk (don´t we all!) and a passion for boxing outside of work.

We’re excited to have her on board and look forward to the perspective and experience she brings to the team.

From Mexico to the Netherlands: Jhonattan Maldonado joins Progreso as our new Operations Manager

Life has a way of taking you on unexpected journeys, and for Jhonattan Maldonado, the path has led him across five countries, through diverse industries, and always toward one guiding purpose: making sustainability tangible. Today, we are happy to welcome him as Progreso’s new Operations Manager, bringing his global experience, curiosity, and heart for impact to our team.

Jhonattan’s professional story began in Mexico, working in food and logistics, where he first learned the intricacies of moving products, people, and ideas efficiently. But he was always looking beyond the immediate, to understand how systems could create real value for people and the planet. This curiosity took him to Sweden, where he pursued a Master’s in Sustainable Management, and later to the Netherlands, where he expanded his expertise across technology, real estate, finance, and banking.

Through each chapter, one thing remained constant: a drive to connect operational excellence with meaningful, human-centered outcomes. “What excites me most about joining Progreso,” Jhonattan shares, “is the tangible positive impact the organization creates for communities. I want to help build systems that are efficient and scalable, while always staying grounded in the realities and stories of the people we serve.”

In his new role, Jhonattan will focus on strengthening internal structures, improving coordination across regions, and ensuring that operations are not just smooth, but purposeful. His goal is simple yet ambitious: to support coffee and cacao cooperatives in becoming more professional, resilient, and fairly rewarded, so that sustainable practices are not just ideals, but lived realities.

But Jhonattan is more than spreadsheets and processes. Off the clock, you’ll find him immersed in music, books, or dance, or training for his next triathlon. And in quiet moments, he’s strolling through the streets of Utrecht with his dog, Mochi, soaking in life’s small adventures along the way.

Jhonattan’s journey reminds us that operations aren’t just about efficiency, they’re about creating the conditions for people and communities to thrive. We are excited to have him join Progreso, and we can’t wait to see how his energy, experience, and vision will help us grow stronger, together.

Welcome Christie Meza to Progreso

We’re thrilled to welcome Christie Meza to the Progreso team! With over 18 years of experience in the coffee sector, Christie has worked with both multinational companies and local producer organizations, combining hands-on field experience with financial and strategic expertise. Her focus has always been clear: helping producer organizations grow sustainably, both environmentally and economically.

Christie comes from a family of coffee growers, making this sector part of her story, not just her career. She was drawn to Progreso by our holistic approach to development and is excited to support producer organizations while helping Progreso strengthen its role as a trusted partner in the Peruvian market. Outside of work, she has a love for dogs, especially Argentine Dogos, and her dog Lucas already thinks he’s the true Country Manager at home!

We’re excited to have Christie’s experience, energy, and passion on board as we continue working alongside producer organizations to create lasting impact.