ProFound team
The ProFound team consists of experts and advisers in development. We regularly collaborate with freelance consultants and trainees when and where required. Much of the work is done through teamwork, which optimises creative inputs and ensures the continuity of the tasks at hand. Feel free to connect with us!
Bert-Jan is skilled in developing multi-stakeholder approaches for sustainable and traceable supply chains from resource to market; designing biodiversity and livelihood related BioTrade development programmes; designing related micro/rural financing strategies.
He has more than 25 years of experience in developing innovative products and tools for organisations such as RVO/CBI from the Netherlands, UNCTAD BioTrade, SECO and SIPPO, UNDP, World Bank, FAO and IFAD, as well as for private sector actors and sustainability initiatives like FairWild Foundation.
Within ProFound Adriana works in project management, new business initiatives like our Webinar Series, Trade Fairs & Matchmaking projects (B2B & trade platforms).
With a background in international development and journalism, Lisanne is well able to effectively synthesize and communicate complex information to any audience. Lisanne is based in Colombia, where she supports ProFound’s operations and project acquisition in Latin America.
At ProFound, Juanita works as a Consultant and is mainly engaged in activities related to market research, focussing on coffee and cacao.
Milena’s work revolves around the following questions:
• How do we build & nourish a strong community?
• How to weave stories with a common ground and communicate about impact, and why?
• How do we create space for a meaningful dialogue to take place, and communicate effectively about transformative actions and impacts?
Milena has a background in communication and is a people-driven writer and researcher, enthusiastic and passionate about storytelling for sustainability and international development projects. She has joined us to weave ProFound’s narrative work, and to build our communication and community of best practices.
During his master’s degree, Tjalling conducted fieldwork in Cambodia to assess the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on smallholder farmers. This research was carried out in cooperation with Cambodia’s National Institute of Statistics and UN-FAO. Through this study, Tjalling gained a good understanding of the lives of rural communities, the rural and national agricultural economy, and regional trends.
At ProFound, Tjalling will start with market analysis work to get a fundamental understanding of the natural ingredients business segment, next to support to our trade fair work and communicating with entrepreneurs and support organisations.
One of her focuses within her studies is Business & Innovation, highlighting the pivotal role that organizations and emerging businesses play in the context of sustainability.
She is passionate about food transitions and recognizes their crucial importance in a sustainable and resilient future. This aligns with ProFound’s vision of supporting Agri-Entrepreneurs and enhancing value chains for natural ingredients.
He supports the communication team creating the innovative ReGen55! Platform.
Miguel specialises in helping organisations and teams develop sharper focus, more robust processes and clearer priorities in their thinking and planning to ensure that in operations they optimise the use of their resources while achieving their objectives effectively. He has supported companies develop and implement their internationalisation plans through a number of activities, including market analysis and prospection, international marketing strategy definition, support to trade promotion activities, and others.
“I find it exciting to promote resilient and fair value chains, while thinking about how trade and commerce can foster development and sustain biodiversity.”
“In my experience, entrepreneurs in developing countries have a great business spirit. We only need to show them the way and they will overcome the many challenges to reach their goals. It’s extremely satisfying to see how these entrepreneurs progress.”
“What drives me is working with an inspiring ProFound team – it’s very exciting every time we manage to bring innovative biodiversity products and concepts to market;
Communities and entrepreneurs we work with are often faced with difficult or conflictive economic environments; we guide and empower them to a value proposition, based on quality and compliance; but most importantly: also with a story!”
“I have always enjoyed working in the natural ingredients sector and in market development of biodiversity and community relevant products.
After I left ProFound in 2008, it has been inspiring to follow the activities and progress of the organisation until now. It’s not an easy market in which we operate, but I believe we have something valuable to offer!”
“I believe in the power of strong teams. When we work towards the same goal, when we respect each other and can rely on each other, we can do great things.”
“Throughout my career I have gained experience in various aspects of business. I get positive energy from working with numbers.”
“I am passionate about local sustainable development. I believe that supporting SMEs on ethical and sustainable trade is essential to meet the SDGs and this is at the core of what we do at ProFound.”
“I encourage market-oriented approaches incorporating social and ecological principles that bring about a profound contribution to local value creation.
It excites me to see how ProFound and its partners drive the transition towards a more fair and resilient natural ingredients sector.”
“I believe in the power of long-term strategies. The lifetime of our work cannot be limited to the lifetime of our programmes. Engaging with local stakeholders and building capacities are key factors in creating sustainable interventions.”
“Promoting a fairer, more progressive trade and development agenda that puts nature, biodiversity and sustainability at the forefront is one of the key drivers of my career. And to do that, I believe strongly in building up organisations that ensure those key concepts remain the key driver of commercial and entrepreneurial development, for the benefit of communities and nature.”
