Event platform · Coffee
The Global Coffee Conference 2026
Naming, messaging and structure for a conference that valued Rwandan coffee as culture and enterprise. Funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
250+ participants from 18 countries
The conference, for Sustainable Growers and funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, began with a larger question: how could Rwandan coffee be valued as culture and enterprise, not only as a commodity?
Through The Brief, Deborah led the naming exercise and created the conference messaging and structure from scratch, developing “Build Together. Lead Globally,” its sponsorship narrative, program, tagline and visual direction.
The three-day experience began with women-led cooperatives in Karongi and Nyaruguru before continuing at Kigali Serena Hotel. It connected 250+ producers, buyers, roasters, policymakers, analysts and partners from 18 countries across Africa, Latin America, Europe, North America and Asia around trade, quality, finance and market access.
The conference placed women producers at the center, sparked direct buyer connections and created a foundation for longer-term sourcing, investment and commercial partnerships. It is a blueprint for the same type of summit in any country.
Deborah Kakoma, strategic creative director. Interested in work like this? Work with Deborah.