Coffee is the universal morning ritual for many, particularly those in corporate settings. At WeWork locations worldwide, professionals often rush in for their daily dose of caffeine, with little thought as to where the coffee originates. That is where the Rise Up Blend comes in. In collaboration with WeWork U.K., Volcano Coffee Works infuses purpose into the coffee-drinking experience, with an ethos that extends far beyond a morning caffeine hit. The Rise Up Blend transforms global coffee sourcing into a vehicle for poverty reduction in sub-Saharan Africa, where the beans are sourced directly from Rebuild Women’s Hope, a female-led cooperative on Idjwi Island in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Economic Challenges for Women in the DRC

Currently, women in the DRC face numerous challenges, especially those in marginalized groups. Despite the land’s vast natural wealth and arable land, the majority of the population remains in financial hardship. According to data from the World Bank, the national poverty rate remains high, with 81.1% of the population living on less than $3 a day in 2025.

While the nation’s broader macroeconomic growth is driven by its industrial mining sectors, these industries offer limited job creation for ordinary citizens, particularly women. Driven by decades of post-civil war violence, the DRC ranks as one of the most dangerous nations on earth for women. It is also one of the worst coffee-sourcing regions for gender equality.

On Idjwi Island, isolated within Lake Kivu, these challenges are magnified. Historically, women coffee farmers in this region faced exploitation by smuggling cartels, frequently risking their lives to transport coffee cherries across the lake to neighboring countries for a fraction of the crop’s true value. However, this lack of marketplace protection directly contributed to systemic poverty on the island.

Structural gender divides push women out of labor channels and cut off their access to essential resources, financial services and a steady income. For rural women managing agricultural work, the lack of secure financial networks or fair-market infrastructure often keeps them in vulnerable employment cycles. This disparity makes localized initiatives targeting the agricultural market vital for long-term equity.

Ethical Coffee Sourcing as a Catalyst for Growth

In 2013, Marceline Budza founded Rebuild Women’s Hope, a female-led coffee cooperative on Idjwi Island in the eastern region of the DRC. Budza established the organization to help rural women and war widows achieve financial independence in an industry traditionally dominated by men.

The cooperative focuses heavily on skills development and technical agricultural training. Rebuild Women’s Hope provides female farmers with modern agronomic education, teaching them:

• Advanced harvesting techniques
• Crop management
• Sustainable land use

This specific educational framework ensures that the coffee cherries meet high international specialty standards, qualifying the harvest for premium global markets.

Today, the cooperative has expanded its reach significantly. By utilizing sustainable coffee sourcing channels through international partners like Volcano Coffee Works and WeWork U.K., the initiative now supports more than 15,000 women and their families.

The demand created by these partnerships delivers a positive social and economic impact at the origin. Rather than relying on standard trade practices, Volcano Coffee Works pays 195% above fair-trade pricing, providing economic security to the farming community. This framework has enabled the cooperative to create 13,000 coffee production jobs for local women in the DRC, actively transforming the regional labor market.

Aligning Coffee Sourcing With Sustainable Development Goals

The revenue generated by this global coffee sourcing model does more than just increase individual wages; it funds vital structural resources that align directly with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

By funding community infrastructure, this partnership shows how ethical coffee sourcing directly supports thousands of women and helps break regional cycles of poverty. The revenue has successfully funded four key local developments that align with global development milestones:

• A maternal and pediatric hospital: Directly addressing SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being) by lowering regional child mortality rates and providing primary health care access to 93% of the cooperative’s women.
• A specialized coffee laboratory: Advancing SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) by establishing localized supply-chain ownership so women can process high-standard specialty coffee rather than relying on predatory trade routes.
• A dedicated barista school: Supporting SDG 5 (Gender Equality) by giving young women the business skills, leadership training and technical tools they need to achieve financial independence.

Through these projects, the partnership demonstrates how a simple daily cup of coffee can become a powerful lever for building long-term community growth.

The Global Impact of Sustainable Coffee Sourcing

The collaboration between WeWork U.K. and Volcano Coffee Works provides a promising blueprint for corporate social responsibility. It shows that when large organizations team up with ethical brands, they can successfully align everyday consumer habits with sustainable global progress.

This initiative highlights the quiet progress happening across developing nations, demonstrating that international trade can be a force for good when equity is built directly into the business model.

The partnership proves how something as routine as a morning coffee can be transformed into something much bigger—a vehicle that drives community development and encourages real change. By dismantling local poverty and giving thousands of women their own autonomy, the initiative illustrates that a sustainable future can be built, one cup at a time.

– Rebecca Cameron

Rebecca is based in Edinburgh, Scotland and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr