Blog by Alice Paola Pomè, SI Youth Representative
March 11, 2026
Uganda House, NYC – Women and Youth at the Center of Sustainable and Inclusive Coffee Value Chains, with a focus on Africa; Organizers: UGANDA. SPAIN, ITALY, AUSTRIA AND UNIDO
Women’s Participation in the Coffee Value Chain
Female entrepreneurship can drive structural change in global economies. Addressing the intersection between the economy, women and girls, and sustainable development is strategic, as it empowers women and girls while also promoting equity, enhancing productivity, strengthening value chains, and generating resilient economic growth at a global level. One of the most prominent industries is the coffee value chain, which spans different countries around the world and has the potential to drive significant change.
The coffee sector is a constantly growing industry, with increasing participation of girls, young women, and women across all stages of the value chain. The creation of resilient and equitable coffee communities, grounded in respect for human rights, represents both a challenge and an opportunity for economic growth. On the one hand, there is a need to foster cooperative communities that can share knowledge for continuous learning; on the other, women—who have always played a role within the value chain—already possess the expertise needed to contribute significantly to structured growth in coffee production.
In this context, the Permanent Mission of Uganda, together with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), organised a side event during the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) that examined the role of women and young women in sustainable and inclusive coffee value chains, with a particular focus on the African continent. The event was co-sponsored by the Missions of Italy, Austria, and Spain, and brought together policymakers, development partners, and private investors.
Despite forming the backbone of the sector, women and youth remain marginal in decision-making processes. According to the 2018 International Coffee Organization report, “Gender Equality in the Coffee Sector,” women perform around 70% of the labour in coffee production, yet their access to land, credit, and training remains limited, reducing their participation in decision-making. This limits their control over income and resources, perpetuating structural inequalities. As stated by Rt Hon Rukia Nakadama, Third Deputy Prime Minister of Uganda, empowering women and girls in the coffee value chain is not only a matter of equity, but a strategic pathway to sustainable economic transformation.
However, social norms and structural inequalities continue to restrict women’s access to finance, markets, and leadership roles. Young women, in particular, face barriers in accessing capital, technology, and training necessary to build sustainable enterprises in the coffee sector. For this reason, the side event’s panellists shared perspectives on policy reforms needed to strengthen women’s leadership and youth participation across the entire value chain. This discussion is particularly relevant in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), given the strong interconnection between gender equality, climate change, and agricultural sustainability.
Opportunities for Growth and Structural Change
This side event aimed to present a value chain perspective, bringing together countries involved in both producing and consuming coffee. As highlighted by the Italian Mission, Africa is the youngest continent, with nearly two-thirds of its population under the age of 25. African women (representing around 60% of the population) hold significant potential to contribute to economic growth and development. Coffee represents a major opportunity: although about 33% of the world’s suitable land for coffee cultivation is located in Africa, only around 11% is currently utilised. This underscores significant growth potential which, if properly managed, could generate substantial development outcomes for the continent.
Italy, as a major coffee consumer, also emphasised the sector’s challenges, including price volatility and the ageing of plantations. Improved access to finance and the adoption of innovative agricultural practices could lead to substantial improvements. Through initiatives such as the ACT programme (Advancing Climate-Resilience and Transformation in African Coffee), countries including Italy are supporting producers in developing more resilient, equitable, circular, regenerative, and efficient value chains, leveraging sector-wide expertise across different countries.
Among the various contributions, the perspective of Margaret Nyamumbo highlighted the importance of adopting a systemic approach to achieve real impact. She recalled growing up in a Kenyan coffee-farming community where women performed the vast majority of labour (around 90%) but owned almost none of the land (about 1%), illustrating deep structural inequality. After studying abroad, she returned with the goal of promoting African coffee globally while ensuring that women farmers benefit fairly from their work, advocating for a more equitable distribution of value.
This is a strong example demonstrating the potential of bridging the gap in women and girls’ participation in economic development. The coffee value chain represents a compelling case in which women’s empowerment and economic development can converge. Women are already key actors across the entire chain—from cultivation to processing and marketing—but the true transformative potential emerges when their contributions are recognised, valued, and supported through access to resources, training, and decision-making power.
Targeted interventions, such as access to credit, cooperation among women producers, technical training, and inclusion in governance structures, enable women not only to increase productivity and income, but also to strengthen their economic and social autonomy. In this sense, the coffee value chain can become a tool for structural empowerment: it improves individual living conditions while reshaping gender dynamics in rural communities, generating multiplier effects on household well-being, education, and economic resilience.
Coffee is just one example that highlights the importance of including women and girls in the development of industries, by creating opportunities, improving access to education, and ultimately building a more equitable and just society.
