Customer relationship, communication and events

Following the move to remote working during the pandemic, it was decided that the Shared Interest team would have the option of working from home permanently. This has allowed our regional representatives to reduce administrative tasks related to managing an office and reduced their operational costs. This has helped provide more flexibility for our Lending Team to undertake more frequent customer visits, including those to carry out due diligence.

We pride ourselves on establishing long-term relationships with our customers and 67% have been with us for more than five years.

During the year, we have worked on improving communication by updating our multi-lingual marketing materials for customer acquisition, which has included developing the online application form, as well as the Finance section of the website. Full translation of this section into French and Spanish should be completed by the end of 2022. 

After two years of restricted travel, our regional representatives have attended several events throughout 2022. This includes Africa Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) Summit in Rwanda (March), Specialty Coffee Expo in the USA (April), Biofach Brazil in Brazil (June), Cocoa Salon in Peru (July), the 16th internal Fair Trade Summit hosted by WFTO in Germany (August) and Expoalimentaria 2022 in Peru (September).

You can read the full Social Accounts document here.