Marika van Santvoort
Marika works as a Country Representative for Benelux and Cocoa Lead at Preferred by Nature. She represents the organization across the Benelux, working with companies, NGOs, governments, and organizations to advance sustainability across agricultural commodities. Based in Amsterdam but she operates with a global outlook. She specializes in building and strengthening collaborations, connecting partners and translating trends in agriculture, policy and markets into concrete opportunities.
Her background in cocoa, including years living and working in origin countries, gives her a grounded understanding of supply chains and business decision-making. A former entrepreneur, Marika brings speed, creativity and collaboration to turning ideas into real impact.
With over twelve years in international agriculture and a strong focus on cocoa, Marika has lived and worked across East and West Africa and Latin America, collaborating with farmers, cooperatives, companies, NGOs and research organizations on responsible sourcing, traceability, farmer support, circular innovation and EU-funded projects.
She also founded and led cocoa companies built on transparency and impact-driven innovation, experience that taught her how supply chains work in practice and how essential collaboration is to progress. She now brings this practical insight, strategic thinking and broad network to support partners across commodities in the Benelux and beyond.
"Real progress happens when good people work together around a shared goal. That's what motivates me at Preferred by Nature: deep knowledge, practical experience, and genuinely kind, professional colleagues united around climate and nature. With a team like this, any challenge can be solved for our clients. "
- Responsible sourcing and traceability across agricultural commodities
- Building and strengthening partnerships
- Translating trends into practical opportunities
- Clear and effective writing for diverse audiences
- Sustainability strategy and implementation
- Project development, funding and consortium building
- Market and policy insight in the agricultural supply chain
- Language known: Dutch, English, Spanish (basic)
