ICA Invests in Progeny Coffee

ICA accelerates direct-trade specialty coffee maker, Progeny Coffee, with $250,000 equity investment.

Oakland, CA — Fast-growing direct-trade specialty coffee company, Progeny Coffee is ICA’s latest investment. The Silicon Valley–based company has just closed a $250,000 equity investment from ICA’s Growth Fund. The company is a 2018 graduate of the Accelerator at ICA and the 4th Accelerator alumni company to receive growth capital from ICA.

Progeny Coffee supplies high-quality beans to some of the San Francisco Bay Area’s most-recognized brands, including Google, Stripe, and Twitter, and places a premium on quality – exclusively selling coffee that is rated 84 or higher on the 100 point specialty coffee Review scale. Progeny sources all of its beans from sustainable farms in Colombia and roasts them at its Bay Area roastery.

Progeny Coffee was founded by fifth-generation coffee farmer and trailblazing entrepreneur, Maria Jose Palacio with her husband, marketing and branding expert, John Trabelsi. The pair have set Progeny on a mission to “lift farmers out of poverty” by partnering directly with the artisanal coffee farms that supply Progeny’s beans.

By championing an innovative approach they’re calling “Beyond trade” they have streamlined Progeny’s supply chain, increased transparency, and double their farmers’ incomes. What’s more, Progeny also provides technical assistance to the farmers and partners with them on local infrastructure projects.

“We built Progeny Coffee to make sure that we were giving back to the farmers and their communities while creating the best specialty coffees possible. We know it is possible to do well by doing good and we are happy to have a great partner like ICA alongside us,” said Maria Palacio, co-founder.

Progeny’s commitment to equity is built in to its very business model. The company is committed to creating prosperity at the source – on the Colombian farms that supply its coffee – and in the Bay Area where it employs a growing team of five. Progeny’s high growth potential and ability to create good jobs and build wealth, make it a perfect fit for the ICA Growth Fund.