Application broadcast:

Coffee Circle

Why do three young men give up their good-paying jobs in a consulting agency? Because they are passionate about Ethiopia and coffee. This radio podcast is about Martin Elwert, Robert Rudnick and Moritz Waldstein-Wartenberg who founded the project Coffee Circle and import and sell Ethiopian coffee on their website (www.coffeecircle.de). The three brave men profit from a 2001 EU initiative, “Everything But Arms”, which has eliminated all duties and quotas for all products (except arms) originating from the world’s least developed countries. Out of each kilo of coffee they sell, they give one euro back to development projects. In order to make sure the money does not disappear or fall into the wrong hands, the start-up entrepreneurs fly regularly to Ethiopia to talk to NGOs and the coffee farmers to find appropriate projects to support. To make this process more transparent and traceable for buyers, their website provides videos from their visits in Ethiopia and the projects they support. The Coffee Circle is a great example for other entrepreneurs interested in trading between the EU and developing countries.