This session will explore how CARE and The Hershey Company are advancing a bold, multi-stakeholder strategy to transform cocoa farming communities in Côte d’Ivoire through the Hershey Income Accelerator Program (HIAP). Designed in partnership with CARE, Rainforest Alliance, and PUR, HIAP is a five-year initiative aimed at improving incomes, resilience, and sustainability for 20,000 cocoa-farming households in Cote d’Ivoire. The discussion, which will feature executives from Hershey, CARE, and Rainforest Alliance, will highlight how Hershey and its partners are working across industries and sectors to address interconnected challenges—such as poverty, gender inequality, climate vulnerability, and deforestation—through integrated interventions including financial inclusion, agroforestry, and regenerative agriculture. This unique partnership, driven by experts in gender and agronomics, is reaching target communities and coops to ensure that solutions are delivered in coordination to avoid redundancy. Attendees will gain insight into how companies can design cross-sector, multi-stakeholder partnerships to drive cost-effective and efficient systemic change and build more resilient supply chains.

Key Takeaways:

• Sector-Specific Insights for Income Acceleration: Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of how income accelerator programs can be tailored to the unique dynamics of specific sectors—like cocoa—and how the Hershey Income Accelerator Program is advancing the industry through a coordinated, community-driven approach.
• Blueprints for Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration: The session will offer practical lessons on designing and managing complex partnerships that unite business, government, and nonprofit actors. Attendees will learn how to navigate evolving economic contexts by building adaptive frameworks that foster shared learning and continuous improvement.
• Integrated Solutions for Resilient Supply Chains: Participants will explore how bundling interventions—such as financial inclusion, sustainable agriculture, and gender equity—can create more resilient and sustainable supply chains. The session will highlight how coordinated delivery across stakeholders helps avoid redundancy and amplifies impact.