IWCA, COE, and ACE Align to Advance Equity and Recognition for Women Producers
January 14 - 2026
Coffee Geography Magazine
To advance gender equity in the global coffee sector, the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) has formally renewed its strategic partnerships with two leading specialty coffee organizations. The alliance announced solidified Memoranda of Understanding with both the Cup of Excellence (COE) and the Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE), reinforcing a united commitment to creating opportunity, recognition, and economic sustainability for women throughout the coffee value chain.
These renewed partnerships establish a framework for collaborative programs designed to strengthen women’s participation in quality-focused markets. By joining forces, IWCA, COE, and ACE will work to increase access to critical training, competitions, and global platforms for women producers. A core objective of the IWCA–COE collaboration is to actively boost the number of women producers entering Cup of Excellence competitions, while also increasing the representation of women on national and international coffee juries. This involves shared work on quality assessment strategies and preparation pathways to equip women to compete at specialty coffee’s highest levels.
Central to both agreements is a focus on joint training and educational programs. These initiatives will emphasize technical skills, sensory education, and comprehensive coffee knowledge, aiming to support women at multiple stages of production and strengthen the capacity of IWCA’s worldwide chapter network.
Through the partnership with ACE, the organizations will coordinate to promote IWCA chapter members whose coffees earn competition accolades. This targeted visibility campaign ahead of auctions and trading platforms is intended to support stronger premiums and foster lasting commercial relationships for women producers. Further, the partners have committed to exchanging information and collaboratively expanding databases of buyers and supporters, thereby enhancing market access for women-led coffee businesses and fortifying a transparent, quality-oriented ecosystem.
Looking beyond immediate projects, IWCA, COE, and ACE will jointly identify and develop programs eligible for funding from corporations, foundations, and development agencies. These future initiatives will be built with clear goals and shared accountability, ensuring alignment with each organization’s mission.
Ultimately, these MOUs establish a foundation for sustained, structural collaboration. By leveraging IWCA’s global network, COE’s competition expertise, and ACE’s market platforms, the partnerships aim to create consistent, enduring pathways for women in coffee to gain recognition, achieve fair reward, and secure long-term support within the specialty coffee industry.