For the second consecutive year, Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) was proud to participate as a Key Partner in the Women Powered Coffee Summit (WPCS); an annual event dedicated to advancing gender equity and leadership within the coffee value steam.
This year’s summit took place in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico, bringing together over 345 participants from more than 20 countries, including producers, exporters, roasters, NGO representatives, coffee advocates and more. The gathering created space for dialogue, learning, and collaboration around coffee.
As part of CQI’s commitment to creating opportunities for women in coffee through the CQI Global Coffee Fund, we were honored to provide 20 scholarships for women coffee producers to participate in the summit. These scholarships allowed women from across the region to exchange experiences, strengthen their technical skills, and connect with peers who share their passion for quality and sustainability.
In addition to sponsoring participation, CQI contributed to the event’s educational programming through two learning experiences led by CQI Educator Claudia Pedraza from Mexico:
• A full-day workshop, ‘Fundamentals of Coffee Processing’, which brought together a total of 21 producers and NGO representatives from Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Puebla.
• Two 90-minute processing workshops titled ‘Processing: Deepening Quality, which together reached more than 110 participants eager to deepen their understanding of post-harvest practices and quality control.
These sessions emphasized the importance of knowledge-sharing and technical training as essential tools for empowerment. Through partnerships like the Women Powered Coffee Summit, CQI continues to strengthen our mission to uplift women in coffee, build capacity across the value stream, and foster sustainable impact through coffee education.
