Charting Sustainable Cocoa Value Chains: KOLTIVA at the Cocoa Platform’s Annual General Meeting
- Gusi Ayu Putri Chandrika Sari
- Jun 20
- 6 min read
Updated: Jun 23
Executive Summaries
KOLTIVA Strengthens Global Cocoa Traceability and Sustainability and joins the Cocoa Platform’s AGM on June 26 to reinforce its leadership in traceable, transparent, and sustainable cocoa supply chains. With active operations across Indonesia, APAC, Latin America, and EMEA, KOLTIVA supports producers with end-to-end digital tools, from polygon mapping to EUDR-ready traceability systems.
Silvan Ziegler, KOLTIVA’s Senior Head of Markets – Americas, will attend the AGM to share insights on cocoa traceability in Latin America. With over 15 years of experience, Silvan leads regional teams in supporting cocoa and coffee businesses with compliance and digital sustainability solutions.
KOLTIVA offers field-embedded solutions for EUDR cocoa compliance, combining technology with local coaching. Its KoltiTrace platform provides geospatial risk analysis, producer onboarding, and end-to-end traceability, empowering global buyers to ensure deforestation-free sourcing and build resilient cocoa supply chains.
On June 26, we will proudly participate in the Cocoa Platform’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) hosted by SWISSCO at the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) in Frick, Switzerland. As a driven-impact technology-enabled agritech company dedicated to transforming global supply chains, KOLTIVA is honored to be part of this high-level gathering of cocoa value chain actors. We see this event not only as a strategic milestone for collaboration but also as a platform to reinforce our commitment to creating traceable, transparent, and sustainable cocoa production systems worldwide.
The thematic session on agroforestry in the morning and the in-depth roadmap discussion in the afternoon are timely and critical. Agroforestry practices are foundational to resilient cocoa ecosystems—and as a field-embedded technology company operating across Asia-Pacific (APAC), Latin America (LATAM), and Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), we bring practical insights and robust data systems that support producers adopting sustainable agroforestry models.
Table of Index:
Our Global Cocoa Commitment
At KOLTIVA, we focus in supporting agribusiness to “Fix the Broken Supply Chains” by digitizing every link—starting from the producers, all the way to the end buyers. In the cocoa sector, we apply this mission with precision and deep local engagement. Across our operations in Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Peru, Colombia, and beyond, we empower cocoa producers with digital tools, traceability systems, coaching, and market access, while equipping businesses with verified compliance solutions to meet evolving regulatory and consumer demands.
Our integrated KoltiTrace platform allows for full end-to-end traceability, from polygon-based farm mapping and geospatial risk analysis to socio-economic data profiling, internal inspections, and deforestation-free supply verification.These features have made KoltiTrace a trusted system for stakeholders navigating EUDR compliance, certification schemes, and private sustainability commitments.
In Indonesia: Our Cocoa Legacy Begins
Our work in cocoa began in Indonesia, where we built strong foundations supporting over 650,000+ cocoa producers across Aceh, North Sumatera, East Borneo, Sulawesi, to East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). With the support of our local field agronomists—whom we refer to as “Field Agents”—we provide personalized, in-person coaching to producers, helping them adopt good agricultural practices, improve productivity, and diversify their income through agroforestry models.
These producers are integrated into our KoltiTrace system, where they can manage digital farm records, receive digital farm assessments, and access financial services through KoltiPay, our embedded fintech solution. Through partnerships with multinational cocoa buyers and certification bodies, we ensure that Indonesian cocoa producers benefit from transparent transactions, access to digital premiums, and ongoing capacity building to meet global sustainability criteria.
Expanding Across APAC, LATAM, and EMEA
In the Asia-Pacific region, we are working closely with cocoa enterprises, traders, buyers and government stakeholders to ensure that cocoa origins in countries like Vietnam, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines can meet the rigorous demands of supply chain transparency and deforestation-free verification.
Meanwhile, in Latin America, our growing presence is marked by our strong technical teams embeddedacross Peru, Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil, where we are deploying KoltiTrace to support cocoa and coffee cooperatives. We understand that cocoa in this region is not only a critical export but also a cornerstone for rural livelihoods, biodiversity preservation, and climate-smart agriculture.
Leading these efforts in the Americas is Silvan Ziegler, our Senior Head of Markets – Americas. With more than 15 years of international development experience—especially within the cocoa and coffee sectors—Silvan has been instrumental in scaling our operations in Latin America. Under his leadership, we are working with producer organizations to implement traceability systems that not only map farm plots but also generate key compliance metrics, monitor agroforestry practices, and enable producers to verify legal land use.
Silvan’s participation at the SWISSCO AGM reinforces our commitment to strengthening cocoa traceability, especially in Latin America. If you are looking to explore collaboration or need support in transforming your cocoa or coffee supply chains across the Americas, Silvan and our regional teams are ready to meet and explore solutions tailored to your needs.
A Clear Response to the EUDR Challenge
The upcoming European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) has sent a ripple effect across cocoa-producing nations and supply chain actors. As of December 2024, businesses will be required to submit geolocation data for all cocoa plots, conduct risk assessments, and ensure deforestation-free sourcing. These requirements may pose challenges, but they also present a historic opportunity for the sector to embrace systemic transformation.
KOLTIVA is among the few technology companies that already offer EUDR-ready solutions integrated into daily operations. Our approach is holistic and field-verified:
Polygon Mapping with satellite validation
Geospatial Deforestation Risk Assessment
Due Diligence Statement Generator
Multi-language Producer Onboarding and Consent Management
Custom Risk Reporting and Alerts
Internal Inspection, Certification, and Audit Tools
Our cocoa partners—ranging from large commodity traders to boutique chocolate brands—leverage KoltiTrace to comply with EUDR while creating shared value with producers through digital coaching, payments, and real-time insights. Whether you’re exporting beans from Latin America or sourcing fine flavor cocoa from Southeast Asia, our tools empower you to trace every batch back to its plot—with confidence.
Driving Local Impact with a Global Perspective
KOLTIVA is more than a software company. We are embedded in the communities we serve. Our team members across the globe engage daily with enterprises, businesses, producers, cooperatives, and local partners to ensure inclusive data collection and sustainable transformation. This human-centric approach is what sets us apart. We believe that producers are not data points—they are partners in progress.
Our traceability is not passive; it’s participatory. We train producers on how to navigate compliance. We digitize and strengthen internal control systems (ICS). We connect producers to ecosystem actors—such as financial institutions, input suppliers, and certification bodies—so that compliance becomes a pathway to prosperity.
Let’s Connect in Switzerland!
As we gather in Frick on June 26, we look forward to meeting with peers who share the vision of a thriving, resilient cocoa sector. Whether you are working in agroforestry, certification, compliance, or sourcing, we invite you to schedule a meeting with our representative at the event.
🎯 Let’s discuss how our field-embedded traceability and sustainability platform can support your cocoa and coffee operations.
📅 Silvan Ziegler will be available for one-on-one meetings during the AGM.
📩 If you're interested in connecting, please reach out to us directly or schedule a time with Silvan by filling up the meeting contact form.
The Cocoa Platform’s AGM is more than an annual meeting—it’s a collective opportunity to shape the future of cocoa. From agroforestry to traceability, from regulatory shifts to climate adaptation, we need solutions that are data-driven, producer-centric, and scalable.
KOLTIVA brings that to the table—with practical experience across four continents, real-time technology, and a passionate team of experts.
We’re ready to work with you to build a better cocoa sector—one polygon, one producer, one transparent supply chain at a time.
Author: Gusi Ayu Putri Chandrika Sari, Social Media Officer at KOLTIVA
Subject Matter Experts: Silvan Ziegler, Senior Head of Markets America at KOLTIVA
Silvan Ziegler is the Senior Head of Markets for the Americas at KOLTIVA, where he leads cross-functional teams across six Latin American countries to advance traceable, transparent, and sustainable agricultural supply chains. With over 15 years of experience in international development, Silvan brings deep expertise in the coffee and cocoa sectors and a proven track record of building inclusive value chains that drive impact for smallholder producers. His work is rooted in a strong commitment to sustainability, innovation, and transforming how commodities are sourced across the Americas.
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