Sahra Nguyen announced as keynote speaker for 2022 IWCA Breakfast
The International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) annual breakfast will be held on 9 April 2022 at the SCA Expo in Boston, Massachusetts. This event brings together a global audience representing a variety of roles within the coffee supply chain. IWCA staff and board members have announced that Sahra Nguyen, founder and CEO of Nguyen Coffee Supply, will open the event as keynote speaker.
Sahra will share her unconventional journey from documentary filmmaker to Vietnamese coffee importer and roaster, and more so, a champion of the robusta bean and less recognized coffee growing regions, such as Southeast Asia. When she noticed that the Vietnamese coffee industry, and more specifically, the robusta bean were excluded from the global coffee conversation she set out to change the narrative. Breakfast attendees will hear about the challenges and deep rooted industry preconceptions Nguyen faced on her path to bring Vietnamese coffee and robusta beans to mainstream coffee consumers.
“Working with IWCA, specifically IWCA Vietnam Chapter, has allowed me to deepen my work in the coffee industry through creating a pipeline for shared knowledge,” said Nguyen. “For us, as a direct-trade importer and roaster, we need to understand the needs and challenges of farming communities and how we can help fill the gaps. For the producers, it’s understanding the standards of global markets and how they can evolve their growing practice to increase opportunities. With a direct relationship we’re able to work closely together to achieve our goals; and through a global network like IWCA, we’re able to ensure that women producers all around the world receive the attention and support they deserve.”
IWCA executive director, Dr Sarada Krishnan, says she is looking forward to connecting with industry supporters and partners at the breakfast and listen to Sahra Nguyen share how she is empowering producers through direct partnerships. “The annual breakfast at SCA offers us an opportunity to showcase some of the amazing work by women in coffee,” said Dr Krishnan. “At this year’s breakfast, we are thrilled to have Sahra Nguyen as our keynote speaker. Her story from filmmaker to coffee entrepreneur promoting her cultural heritage will leave all of us inspired and provoke conversation on how we define specialty coffee.”
Tickets for the IWCA Breakfast are on sale now, and can be purchased when registering for the SCA Expo.
Event sponsorship opportunities are available here.