Producer & Roaster Forum has been working for several years now to create a more equitable value chain for coffee farmers and producing countries by hosting high-impact industry events in Latin America.
Volunteers and scholarship recipients who attend the two-day forums are a crucial part of PRF events. PRF’s volunteer and scholarship programmes allow hundreds of industry professionals to attend world-class exhibitions, experience the coffee sector from different perspectives, and connect with leading experts.
This is why Producer & Roaster Forum is proud to launch PRF Seed, which recognises and honours leading volunteers and scholarship recipients so that they can take their entrepreneurial spirit to the next level.
The first edition of the programme will take place at PRF Guatemala in Guatemala City on the 7th and 8th of March 2024 at Anacafé's headquarters.
The programme will provide a collective fund of US $10,000 to be distributed among a maximum of four winners. This funding can be a crucial way for recipients to expand their reach and impact, and allow them to grow and further improve their operational and strategic activities.
As PRF is a global organisation, volunteers and scholarship recipients from across the world can apply by completing this form. However, all applicants must have been accepted as either a volunteer or scholarship recipient at PRF Guatemala.
Applicants must record and share a high-quality, creative video presentation which should be no longer than 90 seconds. The video has to include an introduction, an applicant profile, an explanation of their entrepreneurial idea, a general business plan, and their required amount of funding. The deadline for submitting the application is 15 February 2024.
The PRF Seed programme includes a three-stage assessment procedure:
First stage: public voting
- Successful applicant videos will be shared on the Producer & Roaster Forum's official Instagram profile. Only PRF followers on Instagram can vote (“like”). Public voting is a crucial part of the assessment process.
Second stage: finalist selection
- The four videos with the most votes (or likes) that meet the outlined above criteria will be selected by the PRF team.
Third stage: presentation to the judging panel
- The four finalists will have the chance to present their entrepreneurial idea before a judging panel at PRF Guatemala, which will include national and international industry experts. Each presentation will be limited to five minutes and will take place on 7 March 2024 at Anacafé’s Los Presidentes Auditorium.
- During their presentation, each finalist needs to explain their project, as well as why this funding is crucial to its success, to the judges’ panel and the audience.
- The judges will evaluate all finalists’ presentations. After reviewing and deliberating, the judging panel will determine how to distribute the total seed capital of US $10,000 among the four finalists.
