Meridah Nandudu envisioned a coffee sisterhood in Uganda, and the strategy for expanding it was simple: Pay a higher price per kilogram when a female grower took the beans to a collection point. It worked. More and more men who typically made the deliveries allowed their wives to go instead. Nandudu's business group now includes more than 600 women, up from dozens in 2022. That's about 75% of her Bayaaya Specialty Coffee's pool of registered farmers in this mountainous area of eastern Uganda that produces prized arabica beans and sells to exporters. To add to her success, Meridah is one of a handful of Ugandan farmers who has been awarded a study bursary to the Netherland, who hone in on her farming capabilities, she joins us on the line by the Netherlands..