New directors and transition to Steward-Ownership

We are proud to announce that 𝐖𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝-𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐝 and has 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬: Mónica Estébanez Camarena (CEO), Paula Trakoštanec (COO), and Joep Bosdijk (CTO). With great enthusiasm, they will continue building on everything Weather Impact has achieved over the past years.

Being steward-owned means that the new owner of the company is the newly founded Stichting Weather Impact. Its directors – who, after a transition phase, will be led by the employees of the company – will be in charge of ensuring that company decisions are taken in line with the company’s mission, and that the company is run to maximize impact, not profit. Profits will be reinvested into the company, to enable us to continue developing, improving and expanding our services – to reach more farmers, better.

Although the overarching focus of the company remains on global food security and climate resilience, we now have a more targeted direction: We will sharpen our focus on Digital Climate advisory services, as well as training and support to strengthen them. As platforms, we will emphasise our Uliza-WI agro-weather advisory chatbot, while not leaving behind the SMSs, APIs and others.

From now on, our strategy involves working towards autonomous climate services that give farmers agency and us accountability. In this way, farmers become clients that choose the solutions they invest in, while we deliver high-quality services that they are willing to pay for. In this process, inclusivity will remain central, ensuring no farmer is left behind. Although this shift will take time and come with challenges, we strongly believe that it is needed in our path towards international equality, sustainable and high-quality climate services and long-term resilience. Even stronger partnerships with farmer associations and other local organizations will be key to making this happen.

While taking this step, we want to thank Stefan ligtenberg for his determined, inspiring and human-centered leadership during the last years. We also want to acknowledge and thank Gerrit Hiemstra and Arnold Lobbrecht for starting this journey 10 years ago, and for all their work and vision ever since.We are honoured for the opportunity to carry this legacy of innovation and passion for positive impact forward.

𝐖𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝!