Bridging Tables - Making direct trade work for small coffee farmers and independent roasters with Matt Hayes

Coffee’s global supply chain is long, layered, and stacked against the smallest players. Farmers need capital up front. Roasters want terms. And between them, a maze of middlemen adds cost and confusion.

Matt Hayes, founder of Bridging Tables, is helping both ends meet. With a background in recruiting and deep ties in emerging markets, Matt built a model that finances trust, not just transactions. By enabling direct trade, providing pre-financing, and focusing on real relationships, Bridging Tables is rethinking how coffee moves and who benefits.

In this episode, we dive into: 

✅ Why the traditional supply chain doesn’t work for farmers or roasters 

✅ How Bridging Tables structures contracts to meet both sides’ financial needs 

✅ The story of Kilvet, a small Honduran farmer whose profit soared 1000% 

✅ What transparent pricing and live translation tech can do for trust 

✅ The role of human connection in building sustainable, scalable change

 

Bridging Tables

Matt Hayes
Instagram
Facebook

 

Sponsors

Debbie Wildrick Consulting

 

 

 

Connect with the Host
Matthew Shipp

Be a guest: https://emberisolutions.com/harvest-to-pour/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewshipp/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matthewjshipp/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emberisolutions

Emberi Solutions: https://emberisolutions.com/

Buy me a coffee ☕ https://buymeacoffee.com/mattshipp