Urbania: The Colombian enterprise using great coffee to do good
Good Stories podcast episode 7: Colombia is famous for its top quality coffee, but the brew can offer more than just a pick-me-up. Anna Patton meets the co-founders of social enterprise Urbania in Medellín, who are creating jobs for victims of conflict as well as protecting precious ecosystems.
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Julian and Ricardo are, in their own words, “obsessed with coffee”.
They’re also entrepreneurs who had the good fortune to study abroad, but felt the need to return to their homeland and contribute to its development.
“Not all Colombians have the same opportunities that we had,” Ricardo told us. “If everyone who has opportunities leaves, what’s going to happen with our country?”
That wish to contribute turned into Urbania, a social enterprise coffee company, which Pioneers Post visited as part of a tour during the Latimpacto annual conference in Medellin, Colombia, in September 2025.
Julian and Ricardo soon realised that, rather than focusing on generating hefty profits that could then be donated to good causes, they could create a business with a “triple impact” – economic, social and environmental. “Coffee was the ideal tool to do that,” says Julian.
That’s partly because coffee is core to Colombian identity and culture. It’s also a crop that sustains the livelihoods of 500,000 families, and creates jobs in both rural and urban areas – Urbania already has a dozen cafes in the country, with significant plans to expand in the coming years. When it comes to the environment, there are big opportunities to improve production. “A lot of farmers have been taught to farm in quite an unsustainable way,” says Julian, citing excessive use of pesticides and deforestation.
But it’s not always straightforward. Cashflow can be a major headache. The Covid-19 pandemic temporarily devastated Urbania’s sales. And embedding company values among staff is tough in a sector like hospitality, where employees typically move on quickly.
Join Pioneers Post’s Anna Patton as she meets the co-founders of Urbania and others in Medellin, to find out:
- How partnerships with NGOs allow Urbania to make an impact in numerous ways
- Why working with suppliers in post-conflict zones raises unexpected challenges
- How Urbania’s impact credentials are fuelling exports
This episode was produced by Anna Patton and Julie Pybus (pictured above at the coffee farm in Medellín) and edited by Laura Joffre. Photos by Julie Pybus/Anna Patton.
Images (from top): Coffee farmer Hiller Alcaraz, a barista trained by Juguemos en el Bosque with the coffee truck, delegates from the Latimpacto conference visiting the coffee farm outside Medellín with Urbania co-founder Julian second from left, an Urbania cafe, Urbania co-founder Ricardo, coffee beans on the coffee truck, part of the coffee farm where local children have a nursery.
Thank you to Latimpacto for supporting our travel and accommodation costs in Colombia.
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