Dear Partners and Friends,
We are pleased to share an update on the growing impact of Kenya Coffee School and Barista Mtaani, initiatives committed to transforming Kenya’s coffee value chain through skills development, youth and women inclusion, and Good Trade–aligned practices, in collaboration with development partners and global institutions, including the World Bank ecosystem.
This update captures key milestones in our work to strengthen human capital, decent work, and inclusive market access within the specialty coffee sector—reflecting principles aligned with Good Trade Certification, sustainability standards, and inclusive economic growth frameworks promoted by the World Bank Group.
Across Kenya’s coffee-growing and urban communities, our programs continue to generate practical evidence and results—from barista and cupper training to smallholder value addition—demonstrating how targeted skills development can unlock employment, entrepreneurship, and resilience for youth and women.
Advancing Inclusive Growth Through Coffee Skills and Trade
Kenya Coffee School and Barista Mtaani have made meaningful progress in:
- Workforce development through accredited barista, roasting, and cupping programs that prepare learners for domestic and global coffee markets.
- Women and youth economic empowerment, expanding access to certification, employment pathways, and micro-enterprise opportunities in coffee service and processing.
- Good Trade and ethical sourcing, embedding transparency, fair value distribution, and sustainability awareness across training curricula and partner engagements.
- Institutional strengthening, supporting cooperatives, SMEs, and training centers to adopt quality, safety, and compliance standards aligned with international trade requirements.
These efforts mirror global development priorities that emphasize skills, jobs, and market systems as drivers of inclusive growth—particularly within agricultural value chains.
Country-Level Innovation: Kenya’s Coffee Value Chain
In Kenya, our programs contribute to:
- Human capital development by linking Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) with real market demand in coffee and hospitality.
- Job creation and self-employment, enabling graduates to work as professional baristas, quality analysts, trainers, and café entrepreneurs.
- Resilient livelihoods, especially for women and youth transitioning from informal work into certified, higher-value roles.
- Data and evidence for policy and investment, supporting dialogue on coffee-sector reforms, youth employment, and inclusive trade.
Looking Ahead
As we move forward, Kenya Coffee School and Barista Mtaani will continue to scale impact through:
- Deeper alignment with Good Trade Certification principles
- Stronger collaboration with development partners and financiers
- Evidence-based program design that supports inclusive, climate-aware, and market-driven growth
We remain committed to building a coffee ecosystem where skills translate into opportunity, and where ethical trade delivers shared value across communities.
We thank our partners for their continued collaboration and look forward to strengthening this work in the year ahead.
Warm regards,
Kenya Coffee School & Barista Mtaani Leadership
In partnership with Good Trade advocates and development partners aligned with World Bank values