Silvia Pavic Jovic: Technology for Good

Silvia Pavic Jovic is the founder of Farmlovers, a global marketplace connecting directly farmers with buyers, particularly in India and Africa. What began as a proof of concept built from code she already had, has grown into a community of over 10,000 members across 84 countries. Through the platform, Silvia is working to create trusted connections, support small farmers, and help build fairer food systems.

Born in Croatia, Silvia spent much of her childhood in her father's village in eastern Croatia. She remembers cleaning stables, helping with field work, and seeing firsthand the effort required to produce food. More recently, she spent some time living and working on an organic Demeter farm, sleeping in a tent and participating in the daily work of the farm. Those experiences continue to shape how she views agriculture and the people who make it possible.

After running a small technology studio in Croatia, Silvia moved to Germany and spent the next decade working as a project manager. Although she built a successful professional career, entrepreneurship continued to pull at her. Farmlovers became an opportunity to combine her technology background with her desire to support farming communities.

As she built the platform, Silvia began hearing stories from farmers around the world. Some were inspiring. Others revealed challenges that she believes deserve more attention. She described a farmer in Maharashtra, India, who grows custard apples but must often wait months to be paid by middlemen. She also spoke about broader patterns where farmers receive very little for their products while others in the supply chain capture much of the value.

At the same time, she has encountered examples of people working to create fairer systems. One broker in Indonesia returned home from the United Kingdom after seeing family and friends struggle to receive fair prices for their crops. Another entrepreneur in Nigeria began helping local farmers after losing his own farm during severe flooding. Silvia sees these individuals as examples of people using business to strengthen their communities rather than simply maximize profit.

Many of the opportunities she sees involve sharing knowledge and connecting people. She spoke about a project in Ghana that will help farmers grow cassava using more sustainable practices while creating additional value through local processing. She also described conversations with a cooperative in Kenya that hopes to transition farmers from sugarcane production to sesame and eventually produce higher-value products such as tahini. For Silvia, these ideas emerge when people share experiences, learn from one another, and work together.

Storytelling has become an increasingly important part of her vision. Through interviews with farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs, she hopes to highlight the people behind the food system and create stronger connections between producers and consumers. She believes individual stories help people understand challenges and opportunities in ways that statistics alone cannot.

Growing up in the former Yugoslavia also influenced how she thinks about community. She remembers a culture where people depended on one another and where companies often provided support systems for workers and their families. She sees similar traits in people from other former socialist countries and believes those experiences shaped her interest in cooperation, shared success, and social impact.

Looking ahead, Silvia's ambitions extend beyond agriculture. She plans to build a company called Technology for Good, focused on using technology to support positive change. Whether the challenge is farming, renewable energy, waste reduction, or another social issue, she is interested in creating platforms that help people connect, collaborate, and solve problems together.

“Imagine all these tech mechanisms that could be used for a good.”

Silvia Pavic Jovic is building connections between farmers, buyers, and communities while exploring how technology can be used to create positive impact at scale. Keep an eye out for more interviews.