Hello everyone, my name is Benjamin and I work as a Senior Consultant at Roland Berger’s Amsterdam office. Since joining the firm in October 2021, I have worked on a variety of projects, among others in automotive and waste management.

The opportunity to do a Social Fellowship excited me from the moment I first read about it, and I am really thankful for the chance to participate. I’ve always believed that every person is called to make a difference, no matter how small. However, when looking at the great challenges of climate change or inequality in this world, it’s easy to wonder what difference you as an individual can make. But you’ve got to start somewhere, right? For me, my Social Fellowship was an opportunity to do exactly that: contribute to a more sustainable and equal world.

My twelve-week Social Fellowship took me to the small village of San Andrés, nestled in the mountains of Costa Rica. Surrounded by rainforest-covered hills and coffee plants, there lies a small coffee farm owned by Asociación Visioneers, an NGO on a mission to help marginalized people in Costa Rica. They grow sustainable coffee on a small scale, using the proceeds to pay fair wages, provide young Costa Ricans with opportunities for exchanges to Germany, and support other small farms in the region by purchasing their coffee at a fair price.

Visioneers faced a major challenge, however: limited processing capacity at the farm forced them to sell most of last year’s harvest unprocessed to larger farms (beneficios) at a very low price. Exporting to Europe seemed like a viable solution, especially since Visioneers’ German partner had opened a café in Berlin where the coffee could be sold. But this would require a substantial increase in processing capacity and the creation of a supply chain to Germany. That’s where I came in.

Together with two other German volunteers, I helped Visioneers to increase their coffee processing capacity sixfold, set up a partnership with an international logistics company, and significantly improve their harvesting process. No two days were the same. From building Excel sheets to document the coffee harvest and preparing PowerPoint presentations for our meetings with logistics providers, to driving a 4x4 truck to transport bamboo to the farm and creating Instagram reels to promote Visioneers’ activities, it was all part of the adventure.

This Social Fellowship was an incredibly valuable experience for me, both professionally and personally. My number one learning is that your contribution matters, no matter how small or insignificant it may feel. I knew absolutely nothing about the coffee-making process or cross-continental exporting, couldn’t speak Spanish, and had only three months, but I was still able to use some of the skills I’d learned at Roland Berger to make a meaningful difference. Your contribution matters, and you can do more than you think – so go for it!