# Manfred Borer

> Manfred Borer is the co-founder and CEO of Koltiva, an agricultural technology and services company connecting producer records, supply-chain traceability, field verification and digital finance. Born in Switzerland and trained as a carpenter, he ran a timber construction company before studying engineering and working with Swisscontact in Indonesia, where he led cocoa-development work.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer at Koltiva
- **Organizations:** Koltiva, Swisscontact, Borer Timber Construction Ltd.
- **Nationality:** Swiss
- **Education:** Bachelor of Engineering; business process management / plant management, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW)
- **Known for:** Co-founded Koltiva in Indonesia in 2013 and became CEO in 2017., Initiator and director of Swisscontact’s Sustainable Cocoa Production Program, with leadership recorded for 2010-2017., Led Koltiva during its September 2023 AC Ventures-led Series A financing announcement.

## Career timeline

- **1994** — Began running Borer Timber Construction in Switzerland.
- **2003-2006** — Studied engineering and business process management at FHNW.
- **2005** — Developed a management information system for a Swisscontact vocational training programme in Albania.
- **2006** — Worked on information systems in West Africa and completed a cocoa-farmer decision-making thesis in Flores, Indonesia.
- **2007** — Managed a World Bank-funded cocoa value-chain project in Sumatra for Swisscontact.
- **2008** — Developed an early digital cocoa-producer database, as recounted in Koltiva’s 2023 podcast summary.
- **2010-2017** — Directed the Sustainable Cocoa Production Program; also served as Swisscontact Indonesia country director.
- **2013** — Co-founded Koltiva in Indonesia with Ainu Rofiq and Furqonuddin Ramdhani.
- **2017** — Became Koltiva CEO; Koltiva AG established in Switzerland; left Swisscontact’s cocoa programme.
- **2023** — Koltiva announced an AC Ventures-led seven-figure Series A financing round.
- **2025** — Presented KoltiPay at the Swiss-Viet Economic Forum in Da Nang.
- **2026** — Presented supply-chain traceability at scale in the Thoughts for Food series on 2 September.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Koltiva in Indonesia in 2013 and became CEO in 2017.
- Initiator and director of Swisscontact’s Sustainable Cocoa Production Program, with leadership recorded for 2010-2017.
- Led Koltiva during its September 2023 AC Ventures-led Series A financing announcement.
- Koltiva reported more than one million producers and 6,800 businesses in September 2023.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Presented From Seed to Table: Building Transparent and Traceable Food Supply Chains at Scale at Thoughts for Food 27 on 2 September 2026.
- **2025-12** — Koltiva reported an MoU with the Swiss-Viet Economic Forum following Borer’s November 2025 presentation of KoltiPay in Da Nang.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manfredborer/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/manfred-borer
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-14