April 9, 2026

Jean-Christian Rindoni: From Global Trade to Conscious Leadership

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Jean-Christian Rindoni: From Global Trade to Conscious Leadership

Send us Fan Mail Over the past year, Jean-Christian Rindoni’s perspective on business and life has evolved significantly. After more than two decades working across global markets in over 30 countries—building partnerships, managing supply chains, and developing international opportunities—he began to question the deeper purpose of business and the impact it creates. Seeking clarity, he stepped away from constant activity and spent time in solitude in the mountains with his Labrador, Bud. Dur...

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Send us Fan Mail

Over the past year, Jean-Christian Rindoni’s perspective on business and life has evolved significantly. After more than two decades working across global markets in over 30 countries—building partnerships, managing supply chains, and developing international opportunities—he began to question the deeper purpose of business and the impact it creates.

Seeking clarity, he stepped away from constant activity and spent time in solitude in the mountains with his Labrador, Bud. During this period of reflection, he reexamined ideas of purpose, responsibility, and interconnectedness, ultimately viewing supply chains as ecosystems that can either extract or regenerate value.

This realization led to the creation of Symbiosis Infinity Group, an initiative focused on building responsible, ethical, and sustainable business ecosystems that bridge developing and developed markets. Today, his work centers on aligning profitability with social equity and environmental stewardship, redefining leadership as stewardship guided by purpose and awareness.

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11:24 - (Cont.) Jean-Christian Rindoni: From Global Trade to Conscious Leadership

Transcript
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Listeners of the Randomness of Nothing podcast, I'm always honored to be able to get time out from special guests, business owners, CEOs, and people who make differences in the world and their communities around them.

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This man epitomizes it.

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He's an individual that has done business in 30 plus countries for 20 years of international business.

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Mr.

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John Christian Rodani, thank you very much for your time, sir.

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Thank you for your time.

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Thank you for inviting me on the show.

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This is this is a big time one because your story is so fascinating.

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You know, you are the uh CEO and founder of Symbiosis Infinity Group, and you have a numerous number of business accolades on your belt, and now you're using business to be in a responsible way where yes, you can conduct business, but it has to be in a morally ethical way, where it also builds the communities and countries that they do business in.

00:00:41.920 --> 00:00:42.960
Yeah, absolutely.

00:00:43.119 --> 00:00:52.960
So um, you know, um it all starts, I think, with um the realization that we all have a purpose in life and it all score all starts from within.

00:00:53.119 --> 00:01:07.200
Uh, and I always say you can always look for outside validation, outside rewards, but the reward needs to come from within and do what makes you feel fulfilled and happy in life while contributing to improving the life of people.

00:01:07.519 --> 00:01:22.319
And for me, it all started by realizing that um finding my purpose was the first thing that I needed to do after you know doing so many types of business projects all around the world and just focusing on value creation for um you know making profit.

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And um I came at a point in my life where um God or the universe or whatever you believe in um forced me to a full stop of everything, of my personal life, my business life.

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And basically I was pushed to look inwards and realize I realized that I was not contributing positively and I had so many skills and experiences that could profit and benefit other people all around the world.

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And this is how I decided to combine my international um business experience skills uh with my passions and my purpose, which is you know helping people uh to um have a better standard of life.

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And this is how we came to create Symbiosis Infinity Group, which is a consulting firm uh based here in Europe, but we're working worldwide, to create a bridge between developing uh markets and developed region and create circularity around supply chain and possibilities of ethical investment for transformation of raw material products at source so that you can create more value, more jobs, uh, more opportunities for the people uh in developing regions, most specifically right now.

00:02:27.599 --> 00:02:29.280
What we're working on is mostly Africa.

00:02:29.439 --> 00:02:29.680
Right.

00:02:29.919 --> 00:02:30.080
Right.

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You know, and you know, I'm I'm a I'm gonna I try to stay history when it comes to, you know, you know, my knowledge of things.

00:02:36.080 --> 00:02:42.800
And obviously that's a very important topic, you know, particularly when you realize how many countries got exploited for their raw goods and materials.

00:02:42.960 --> 00:02:56.719
I mean, you know, this is a show that obviously doesn't not make anybody feel bad or get political, but that is, you know, there are some scars and wounds from when people didn't get their, didn't get the reciprocated back of the goods that were coming out of their countries.

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They had a lot of worth, but they didn't see the money and investments back into their countries or locations that that the exporters did, so to speak.

00:03:04.960 --> 00:03:05.439
Yeah.

00:03:05.680 --> 00:03:29.439
Um I I think in in some ways, um, this is still you know going on on today, and this is where we come in with a mindset of not just extraction of resources, but more um adding value to the resources that not only planet Earth provides, but also that the entire communities actually are are uh thriving um uh thanks to these um materials.

00:03:29.680 --> 00:03:37.439
So, just to give you a very concrete example of one uh big project that we're working on right now, which has tremendous potential, is cocoa husk.

00:03:37.680 --> 00:03:39.759
So a lot of people know about cocoa beans, right?

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To make chocolate and and so on.

00:03:42.159 --> 00:03:59.199
But cocoa husk is a raw material that's 99% of the time left untouched in the field, and it has tremendous applications for um nutraceuticals, for a biodegradable packaging, yes, and as a food, uh natural food uh ingredient as well.

00:03:59.360 --> 00:03:59.520
Absolutely.

00:03:59.759 --> 00:04:02.560
There's also some research being done around biofuels.

00:04:02.639 --> 00:04:06.000
Um that is yeah, uh, from from cocoa.

00:04:06.479 --> 00:04:12.080
Now, the farmers in the in the cooperatives in in Cameroon that we work with, they don't utilize this.

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And at this time, at this very moment of time, as we're speaking now on the 18th of March 2026, the cocoa industry is in big crisis.

00:04:19.519 --> 00:04:24.480
The prices are going down, farmers cannot refinance their operation, they owe a lot of money.

00:04:24.639 --> 00:04:32.319
So, what we're providing here is a solution to these farmers to diversify their sources of income while responding to a market demand.

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So the goal here is that everyone wins.

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We all win, and this is how business transactions should be done.

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It's not just one-sided or two-sided.

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So I'm a conscious business growth advisor, and what we do is when we have such a project, we analyze all the stakeholders that are within the environment, and we say, okay, how can we make it so that everyone most more or less equally benefits the same from this business negotiations and business deal that we're doing so that everybody wins.

00:05:02.079 --> 00:05:05.680
And this is the spirit that we have when we conduct such projects.

00:05:05.920 --> 00:05:07.120
That's amazing work, right?

00:05:07.199 --> 00:05:08.399
So, like it's it's crazy.

00:05:08.560 --> 00:05:14.879
So, you know, you'll have a product in your backyard, you know, and you don't realize the full breadth and scope of what it can actually accomplish.

00:05:14.959 --> 00:05:22.319
And here you come in and say, Okay, well, yes, it you your your market may not be in this particular avenue, but have you talked about this instead, right?

00:05:22.399 --> 00:05:32.639
So your level of expertise, and I saw you have a large team, in fact, that could assist with those with those things, because the reality about it is you have blind spots if you don't actually know what you don't know, right?

00:05:32.720 --> 00:05:41.680
And so then you could just focus on just I just need to sell you know coca, and you're like, wait, there you you can be in the pharmaceutical business rather than just the food consumption or coffee business, so to speak.

00:05:41.839 --> 00:05:42.240
Yeah.

00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:45.279
Oh absolutely, and and you touch a very good point here.

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Um, the fact that we cannot do this by ourselves.

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So uh we always we're part of um a consultant group of 1,200 people um that are organized around the conscious business network worldwide.

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So we rely heavily on this network in order not only to spread the word, but also to create synergies all around the world in different parts of uh of the globe and be able to reach out to as many people as possible.

00:06:09.040 --> 00:06:18.480
Now, of course, we all have our own expertise and our own uh you know passions, and this is why myself I partner up with people that are experts in their field.

00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:35.759
For example, we have an expert in impact measurement, an impact measurement consultant, who's able to create models, AI-generated models, to see what kind of impact we have with the projects, whether it is to communities or on the planet, on every stakeholder that we involved.

00:06:36.160 --> 00:06:38.720
And then we're able to generate projections.

00:06:38.879 --> 00:06:42.079
So to say, okay, in six months, this should lead us here.

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And and then after six months, we re-evaluate what we call our loop, our circular loop, to say, okay, we we achieved our goals here, but maybe we should put more emphasis, for example, on environmental protection on this particular community.

00:06:56.879 --> 00:07:09.680
So it's very important, I believe, in everything that you do that you know, you surround yourself with uh with people that are first of all like-minded, so that have the same vision and mission as you, but that have different skills.

00:07:09.920 --> 00:07:11.519
And this is a key to success.

00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:19.680
Do you find the reception of some of these places that you do business with, you know, and say, okay, I'm operating in good faith.

00:07:19.839 --> 00:07:29.360
You know, there is, you know, obviously history can be a hard thing for people to overcome, despite things that have happened, you know, generations ago.

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You sit back and say this time will be different.

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And that's across the board, regardless of what country you do business in, because you know, history has shown that, you know, recently certain ambassadors aren't allowed to come back to certain countries because of lingering tensions of what happened hundreds of years ago.

00:07:44.480 --> 00:07:48.959
Do you find people are receptive to the new business model you're trying to integrate?

00:07:49.199 --> 00:08:28.240
You know, I was I think that there's kind of an awakening um around the world uh on um the way we've been operating since the birth of capitalism, uh and that we see that it's coming to uh exhaustion um because profit at all costs, uh um the extraction of material and the uh I would say the unfair balance that has been created towards you know emerging countries and developed markets is coming to an end, simply because also locally, especially in Africa, what we see is that people are realizing that the wealth and the wealth is within them and within their land and their ancestral knowledge as well.

00:08:28.399 --> 00:08:28.639
Right.

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Uh and you know, I think that a lot of people are whatever happened in the past is of course always wounds that we all carry one way or another.

00:08:37.519 --> 00:08:45.919
But I think that the new generations are, you know, especially in Africa, what I see um when I travel there is very ambitious people, very creative, right?

00:08:46.159 --> 00:08:53.039
Uh that have a wealth of of knowledge and a passion in order to develop um you know business for good.

00:08:53.200 --> 00:09:00.960
And that's why, for example, the cooperatives we work in Cameroon that are Cocoa cooperatives, right, um, they don't have a lot of resources.

00:09:01.360 --> 00:09:09.759
So um we you know work with them to make sure that they make the best out of the resources that they have, and I think that they're very appreciate um appreciative of that.

00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:17.840
Now on the other side, you have the global companies, you have global companies or medium-sized companies, which is mostly the companies we work with.

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We do not necessarily work with large groups, but we work mostly with medium-sized companies that are around from 50 million to 300 million US dollar turnover.

00:09:27.519 --> 00:09:28.399
Yeah, yeah.

00:09:28.559 --> 00:09:29.840
Uh, why we do that?

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Because they have kind of a conscious approach uh uh to doing business and they want to have a leave a legacy behind, and they do not necessarily have the network or the capacity to handle circularity as big groups do.

00:09:43.200 --> 00:09:59.039
And we find out that a lot of these companies are actually doing a lot of good already, but they don't know how to translate it from a branding point of view, and this is where what we created, which is the symbiosis infinity loop, is also based on you know conscious branding.

00:09:59.120 --> 00:10:03.759
I mean, you're doing this, but this is great for the community, this is great for the environment.

00:10:03.919 --> 00:10:06.080
Why aren't you communicating this to the world?

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Because this becomes a very powerful tool to bind yourself at an emotional level with your customers.

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And what does that do?

00:10:15.279 --> 00:10:20.720
When you have an emotional bond with your customers, then you don't need to spend so much money on marketing.

00:10:20.799 --> 00:10:26.320
Right, your customer loyalty increases, your sales reputation increases, your marketing cost decreases, and what does that do?

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Your profit increases without questioning by doing good, you actually make more profit by securing your customers on the long time so that we have a whole chain of stakeholders that consciously or unconsciously work together for good and are doing better than the regular business practices that we've seen so far.

00:11:14.679 --> 00:11:19.960
There's no question that you can, you know, I know like sometimes capitalism became a dirty word, but it's like you should make money.

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Like one, that is not a bad thing.

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It's just a case of sitting back and saying, okay, well, you know, these countries do need assistance and we can be a force for good.

00:11:28.679 --> 00:11:33.720
Like if you know, if there's rubber, if there's you know precious metals, let's see how you benefit.

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Let's make sure that if you are extracting it, there's safety measures in place.

00:11:37.320 --> 00:11:44.279
Let's make sure that the you know the currency exchange rate is favorable, depending on which bank you know or financial institution is being utilized and used.

00:11:44.440 --> 00:11:52.120
So, and and I think one of the reasons, and this is just my opinion, that maybe companies don't do that is because they're scared of promoting their good deeds, so to speak, right?

00:11:52.200 --> 00:11:55.159
So it's like, okay, you know, yes, I'm being a force for good.

00:11:55.320 --> 00:12:04.840
We do a lot of things, but maybe they're conscious of saying, Am I supposed to really promote that I'm doing certain good things because maybe good deeds are supposed to be done privately, so to speak, right?

00:12:05.000 --> 00:12:05.879
Yeah, yes, yes.

00:12:06.200 --> 00:12:09.080
Um I mean, yeah, that I mean there's two ways.

00:12:09.159 --> 00:12:21.480
Uh, I I think you you also touch on a very good point, is that uh the the some companies want to keep this private, and this is about, for example, I compare, I there's two different things.

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There's philanthropy.

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So, philanthropy, uh, which I oh I'm also involved uh with, you don't necessarily want to claim that the world you do this for yourself, you do this for the communities and so and so on, that's your help, but you don't need to to uh to expose that to the public.

00:12:36.039 --> 00:12:49.159
However, when it comes to um, I would say the the conscious business approach that we have, it's very important to be able to communicate some of the actions that you do because it helps you grow your business.

00:12:49.240 --> 00:12:54.039
And you touch also another very good point making money is essential to a business.

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It's it's it is it is essential.

00:12:56.519 --> 00:12:59.879
It's like you know, but it shouldn't be the purpose of the business.

00:13:00.120 --> 00:13:05.559
It's like you as a human being, you need to breathe in order to live, but your your purpose is not to breathe.

00:13:05.720 --> 00:13:05.960
Exactly.

00:13:06.120 --> 00:13:12.200
Because if your purpose would be just to breathe, yeah, you would just stay on your couch or on your chair and just breathe the whole day, right?

00:13:12.679 --> 00:13:18.440
But but yeah, and you have beyond that, you have a purpose, and it all comes down.

00:13:18.600 --> 00:13:19.960
We always advise companies.

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The first ask question we I ask when I meet with companies here in Europe or in the US or anywhere else in the world is that what is your purpose?

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Why are you in business?

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You're not here in business just to sell chocolate, for example.

00:13:33.080 --> 00:13:33.320
Correct.

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You need to think beyond that, you need to go beyond that, and only then, when you find your purpose as a company and as a human being, can you make a great contribution to the work?

00:13:44.279 --> 00:13:46.679
And it all starts from doing the work within.

00:13:46.840 --> 00:14:01.159
So there is a lot of work, like spiritual and personal development work that one has to do as a leader to do that, and then you duplicate what you achieved inside of you to your organization, to you as leadership.

00:14:01.240 --> 00:14:01.559
Right.

00:14:01.799 --> 00:14:17.080
And then there is another uh layer to this is that you need to be sure that at the corporate level, this purpose is clearly identified in the core of the DNA of the company from the top management all the way down to the top floor, the shop floor.

00:14:17.320 --> 00:14:23.960
That means that everyone that goes to work in your company needs to go and wake up and have the same purpose, the same idea.

00:14:24.120 --> 00:14:25.480
I know why I go to work.

00:14:25.559 --> 00:14:29.159
Right, it's for a reason X, Y, and Z beyond my paycheck.

00:14:29.399 --> 00:14:38.200
And this makes a whole difference in people's life, first of all, in the company, and in the message that business can be a force for good old around.

00:14:38.519 --> 00:14:49.639
So I'm gonna before I dive deep into your background, I also have to say that you know, if if you know, because I really want to know how you got your start as far as education and where you first got your you know your foot into the door to do this.

00:14:49.720 --> 00:15:07.320
But I'll just to leapfrog off, you know, just to piggyback off what you said, if you only focus on your final product, if you even if you don't necessarily want to come out and get be the force of good, which you you know you ultimately should be, you'll also find out you have safety and uh violations and and and liability things that could happen if you're only driven.

00:15:07.399 --> 00:15:13.559
If you're in the food consumption business, for example, and it's only about selling the next chocolate bar, you can kill people, right?

00:15:13.799 --> 00:15:16.279
You can legitimately kill people, yeah.

00:15:16.600 --> 00:15:18.360
You know, so that's how serious it is.

00:15:18.519 --> 00:15:28.840
You know, then we've seen you know horror stories of companies that just had focused on one thing and then a really bad incident, you know, takes place because they didn't take those protocols and procedures in place to be a force of ethical good.

00:15:29.000 --> 00:15:29.320
Yeah.

00:15:29.480 --> 00:15:31.720
And and this is where trustability comes in as well.

00:15:31.799 --> 00:15:50.519
And this is a very important part of what we do with the communities in Africa, is that uh we also part of what of the Symbiosis Infinity Loop that we created is is dedicated to innovation and improvement of quality control processes, which we attach a lot of importance to.

00:15:50.679 --> 00:16:13.000
It means that when we negotiate deals between farmers or cooperatives or you know, smaller companies in the developing region, we ensure that part of the profit that is compromised in doing these ethical negotiations is reinvested in innovation and quality improvement to serve the customers at the end much better.

00:16:13.159 --> 00:16:25.159
Because this is something that is extremely important because you don't want to create um um circular supply chain that can be circular, ethical, but that is not traceable, 100% traceable.

00:16:25.559 --> 00:16:37.399
And our goal is really to give the opportunities to these cooperatives, to these farmers, to gain a little bit more money each year so that this money can be reinvested in optimizing their processes.

00:16:37.559 --> 00:16:38.519
And what does that do?

00:16:38.759 --> 00:16:43.399
That benefits also the companies that actually buys for them, buys from them.

00:16:43.480 --> 00:17:06.360
So on the long term, they can't they are 100% sure that what they buy is 100% traceable, 100% controlled, and that the product that they receive is of much better quality if they pay one or two dollars more per ton rather than squeezing the price, which is not gonna enable the farmers to actually make a good standard of living and reinvest part of the money to service their customers better.

00:17:06.599 --> 00:17:06.920
Hopefully.

00:17:07.079 --> 00:17:09.960
Again, it is what we call the symbiosis infinity loop.

00:17:10.039 --> 00:17:10.200
Right.

00:17:10.360 --> 00:17:10.599
Why?

00:17:10.679 --> 00:17:13.400
Because symbiosis, we should live in symbiosis.

00:17:13.480 --> 00:17:15.799
I always compare the business that we create as nature.

00:17:15.960 --> 00:17:20.519
When you go in the forest, every tree, every element is dependent on each other.

00:17:20.679 --> 00:17:30.119
They don't compete, they support each other by giving each other nutrients, sunlight, birds interacting with trees, trees interacting with one another.

00:17:30.200 --> 00:17:31.079
And guess what?

00:17:31.240 --> 00:17:36.359
You don't need to have an AI model issued in order to understand that this is the perfect symbiosis.

00:17:36.519 --> 00:17:36.599
Right.

00:17:36.759 --> 00:17:42.839
Because you go in nature and you see that everything works perfectly the way it should, because it's in harmony in symbiosis.

00:17:43.559 --> 00:17:44.599
Infinity, why?

00:17:44.759 --> 00:17:51.000
Because once there's an infinite amount of energy in the world, you know, energy is energy, it never dies, it always turns mute.

00:17:51.240 --> 00:18:18.519
So once you create this loop between the stakeholders, then it can be generally it can you know generate, it regenerate itself infinitely because once you engage that, there is kind of a I would say um um a link that cre is created by the different entities and the different people that work together that is more based on trust and more based on us being human beings rather than just people doing business together.

00:18:19.079 --> 00:18:33.720
So all in all, it's it's it's it's a very important approach that humans should be at the center of human and the planet, but first the humans should be at the center of whatever uh business deal we do.

00:18:33.960 --> 00:18:41.880
And you know, if we can um make money while empowering people around it, then it's it's the perfect combination.

00:18:42.119 --> 00:18:50.039
Well, the other thing that happens too is like countries always have to evolve and find new available ways to power their industries and their businesses, right?

00:18:50.119 --> 00:19:11.480
If a certain sector of the economy is deemed, you know, I certainly don't want to get political, but if they said that certain chemicals are being released and they would like to transition to a different form of energy usage, certain countries now have those resources and things evolve, whether in the and you know, things buildings still need to be built, and they'll find out that there's more sustainable resources in some of these countries that do have these resources.

00:19:11.640 --> 00:19:18.279
And so by acting in good faith and by partnering, you know, in the in the manner that you do see fit, there's there's a great growth opportunity.

00:19:18.359 --> 00:19:20.920
And at the end of the day, businesses need emerging markets, right?

00:19:21.079 --> 00:19:33.640
And so now you have a situation where if there is an emerging market that has potential for business growth, I think you know businesses are sitting back and say this is an untapped market that needs attention and we can put the adequate resources in place.

00:19:33.880 --> 00:19:35.079
I did have a quick question, though.

00:19:35.240 --> 00:19:37.640
How in the world did you get into this field of work?

00:19:38.039 --> 00:19:39.559
That's a very good question.

00:19:39.720 --> 00:19:47.079
It's uh it would it would require a full episode, but I'll I'll try to, you know, I'll try to I'll try to put it shortly.

00:19:47.319 --> 00:19:58.759
Um I would say a year and a half ago, um uh I had a full stop in my life where all my life turned upside down, basically, right on the personal level.

00:19:59.000 --> 00:20:04.599
Uh and I had a big sudden realization that you know forced me to stop.

00:20:04.759 --> 00:20:19.880
You know, when you when you keep running from your destiny, God or the universe, whatever you believe in, will always have will always have a way to equal and remind you that you're not running in the right direction, that you're just yeah, like a hamster wheel.

00:20:21.319 --> 00:20:23.079
And and it was the case for me.

00:20:23.160 --> 00:20:26.039
Unfortunately for me, I learned my lessons always the hard way.

00:20:26.279 --> 00:20:28.440
Uh, some people learn them the soft way.

00:20:28.599 --> 00:20:30.920
Me, I always the hard way.

00:20:31.079 --> 00:20:45.160
Uh, but it's good because uh through I would say through the um uh the the growth that that that series of events triggered the word triggered in my life, it forced me to stop and to look inwards.

00:20:45.319 --> 00:20:46.279
And then this is what I did.

00:20:46.440 --> 00:21:03.160
I stopped my business activity, I stopped my I would say my normal routine, I went inwards, went into a a spiritual journey uh and um personal development, looking really deep inside myself and and figuring out who I was really.

00:21:03.400 --> 00:21:15.400
Was I, you know, just wearing a mask to please the people around me and to you know fulfill the wish fulfillments of my father's hope or my mother or the way I wanted society to see me.

00:21:15.559 --> 00:21:19.640
And I realized that for most part I was myself, but not 100%.

00:21:20.279 --> 00:21:25.720
And I said, you can do more than that, you can be totally yourself even in the business that you want to build.

00:21:26.039 --> 00:21:29.720
And I went online and one thing led to another.

00:21:29.799 --> 00:21:35.160
You know, when something is meant to be uh you know, right people, the right people and the right opportunities are brought to you.

00:21:35.400 --> 00:21:44.359
And I went online and I figured I learned about conscious capitalism, which is a movement that was created by John Mackey, CEO, CEO of Wall Foods back in the 90s.

00:21:44.440 --> 00:21:51.640
Uh, dig into conscious capitalism, got connected to people, met uh Thomas Eckschmidt, who is my mentor and our special advisor in the company.

00:21:51.799 --> 00:21:54.279
He's the founder of Conscious Capitalism Brazil.

00:21:54.440 --> 00:21:59.319
Um, he trained, uh, he has a certification program of 1200 consultants around the world.

00:21:59.400 --> 00:22:24.599
So I took the program, and at the same time, while I was developing this skill, I was like, how can I combine the amazing experience I have negotiating deals in luxurious boardrooms in multinational companies in Europe, or sitting in uh uh in two on two cardboards, for example, in Nigeria and you know, meeting people there in the middle of the jungle because I knew both worlds and I understood both worlds.

00:22:24.759 --> 00:22:28.039
So, how can I combine that and make a contribution to the world?

00:22:28.200 --> 00:22:37.799
So, um I um I took a program from a company called Shift Co, which is um a company that helps conscious entrepreneurs build up their vision into a business model.

00:22:37.960 --> 00:22:48.839
And so I did that for a year, I would say or for at least eight months, and slowly and surely created what is today um um Symbiosis Infinity Group.

00:22:49.160 --> 00:22:56.759
You know, I I you know and I I love the uh the the broad overview because I can only imagine the breadth and scope of what it took to get all these stakeholders involved, right?

00:22:56.839 --> 00:23:02.920
And the you know, the planning and because anytime, like it's like when I did this podcast, like it was like it called me, right?

00:23:03.000 --> 00:23:11.559
I'm sitting here watching documentaries, I'm sitting here watching, you know, you know, um, you know, I'm uh I go down the the wormhole of the internet and I want to know how this operated, how this functioned, how this was made.

00:23:11.720 --> 00:23:13.160
And then I was like, man, you know what?

00:23:13.240 --> 00:23:17.559
I might want to talk to the people that do it, and maybe we can have a good conversation in the process of it.

00:23:17.720 --> 00:23:23.400
I'm not smart enough to create a multinational business, but I think I'm smart enough to talk to the person that did, right?

00:23:23.480 --> 00:23:32.039
So like it kind of works itself out in the universe, but when you have that moment and that passion and that drive, it fuels you and it keeps you up at night, right?

00:23:32.279 --> 00:23:37.880
Because it it it become it you get consumed by it and then you realize this is what you always wanted to do.

00:23:38.119 --> 00:23:38.440
Absolutely.

00:23:38.519 --> 00:23:40.279
You touch on another very good point.

00:23:40.359 --> 00:23:50.440
Here is you need to fit it in your heart and in your soul that it is the right thing to do, not only for um the planet and the people, but also for you.

00:23:50.759 --> 00:23:52.519
Always listen to your calling.

00:23:52.759 --> 00:23:54.519
If it feels good in your heart, do it.

00:23:54.680 --> 00:23:56.200
If it doesn't feel good, don't do it.

00:23:56.440 --> 00:23:57.559
This is how I function now.

00:23:58.039 --> 00:24:03.400
So I I try to use more of my heart center rather than my brain center nowadays.

00:24:03.480 --> 00:24:09.079
And this is why, you know, when I'm with my partners and collaborators, we don't brainstorm, we heart storm.

00:24:09.400 --> 00:24:13.240
So uh we heartstorm because it has to come from the heart.

00:24:13.400 --> 00:24:26.039
And I always say a strategy, a business strategy without a soul is not sustainable because it doesn't, you know, fulfill you and the needs of whatever you can bring to the world.

00:24:26.200 --> 00:24:33.079
So in every business strategy, every project that we entertain, we look beyond the simple business matrix.

00:24:33.240 --> 00:24:33.559
Right, right.

00:24:33.720 --> 00:24:35.880
We say, you know, does it feel good to do that?

00:24:36.039 --> 00:24:49.240
Is it of course there is business matrix that need to be applicable because if there's no market for a product, you can work all with all the passion and and the dedication you want, you will not be successful because at the end of the day, yeah, you're also here to generate profit.

00:24:49.960 --> 00:24:54.759
But it has to every every every box is have to take, I would say.

00:24:54.920 --> 00:25:14.279
Your heart box, your soul box, of course, your brain, and all the business matrix that prove that it is a good product or good material to work on and to create circular supply chain, but also investment uh opportunities to transform this product at source, then it's okay, we can go ahead.

00:25:14.359 --> 00:25:25.079
And for example, for this Cocoa Ask, we're currently working with several companies to create circularity around this supply chain and to bring this Cocoa Ask from Cameroon to many places in the world.

00:25:25.240 --> 00:25:34.039
But we go beyond that because having a raw material export doesn't create a lot of value as long as it helps as much as it helps at the beginning.

00:25:34.200 --> 00:25:36.359
This is just the first step of what we do.

00:25:36.519 --> 00:25:49.319
What we do after that, once this is secured and once we have a good rotation in terms of and steady orders that allow you know all parties to generate profit and be able to create a little bit of circularity.

00:25:49.559 --> 00:25:57.640
Well, we encourage um um with our partners, and we work with impact funding partners as well, is to create local transformation at source.

00:25:57.720 --> 00:26:07.720
That means instead of having just this raw material sent anywhere else in the world, why don't we create a transformation unit in Cameroon to turn this cocoa ask into powder?

00:26:07.960 --> 00:26:19.000
Because this powder is used for nutrients for as a food ingredient and is used by huge corporations like Nestle and Danon and all this.

00:26:19.160 --> 00:26:21.160
But so, and this creates what?

00:26:21.319 --> 00:26:34.440
This creates more technology uh, this creates more jobs, more knowledge, and therefore more community empowerment and the increase of standard of life of living uh from the local population.

00:26:34.599 --> 00:26:42.519
For the companies, uh the multinational companies or medium-sized companies that used to import this raw material but transform it themselves.

00:26:42.680 --> 00:27:01.079
We don't say don't transform it anymore, but you know, half half, and gradually you will see that the price that you will get from processing this cocoa husk, for example, as a powder in Cameroon is so much cheaper than what you're doing locally in Switzerland or in France, for example.

00:27:01.319 --> 00:27:03.720
And here you also have a comparative advantage.

00:27:03.880 --> 00:27:20.279
So it's all a matter of not rushing, identifying the right opportunities, putting systems in place step by step that allow circularity, sustainability, and um ethical uh investment and business processes to be put in place.

00:27:20.440 --> 00:27:22.920
And don't get me wrong, it doesn't happen overnight.

00:27:23.079 --> 00:27:26.759
So if you're you know if you're in for the quick buck, don't be in this industry.

00:27:27.079 --> 00:27:32.359
You'd rather sell some stuff on Shopify or be in the music industry selling tickets, yeah.

00:27:32.519 --> 00:27:49.880
Uh um, which is you know great uh for the people that like this, but um it's it's not it's it it's a more of a long-term vision that has a purpose or that has something beyond just uh fortune and fame.

00:27:50.039 --> 00:27:51.640
And this is why we're in it for it.

00:27:51.880 --> 00:28:00.279
I think it's I'm always fortunate enough to talk to businesses like this because those are these are the ones that unless you actually know somebody and talk to somebody, you you're really not gonna know.

00:28:00.440 --> 00:28:02.279
It's like the behind-the-scenes companies, right?

00:28:02.359 --> 00:28:12.200
Like somebody right now is doing, you know, you're doing the work that you're doing right now, and and it's not going to be pro you know on a billboard, so to speak, that this is what's taking place.

00:28:12.440 --> 00:28:29.559
So, you know, all these wonderful things that you're doing, you really have to get a chance to talk to people like yourself to know that these things are taking place in real time at the local level, operating ethically, sourcing at the at the at the raw materials location, getting it all the way to the finished process location and ultimately to the final consumer.

00:28:29.720 --> 00:28:33.559
Like you don't really hear about that unless you really talk to people like yourself.

00:28:33.640 --> 00:28:38.839
So I'm really fascinated and intrigued by being able to talk to somebody that lives and breathes it.

00:28:38.920 --> 00:28:42.920
And I'm truly I'm really honored by it because you're we're we're very thankful.

00:28:43.160 --> 00:28:47.000
We're very thankful that you invited us to the show and be able to spread the word.

00:28:47.079 --> 00:28:57.000
And this is how you know we we um we communicate this uh you know through people to people, through meeting people like you for being honored to be in and podcasts as well.

00:28:57.079 --> 00:29:03.799
And you know, if we reach one or two people that are is interested in partnering up with us, yeah, thanks to you, then it's already progress.

00:29:03.960 --> 00:29:07.640
Um, you know, we we do this, of course we need to spread the word.

00:29:07.720 --> 00:29:09.319
We don't, but we don't do this for fame.

00:29:09.480 --> 00:29:14.759
We don't do this to say, hey, look how good I'm doing, or look how much money we help generate.

00:29:14.920 --> 00:29:26.440
We do this because we feel it's good, we feel it's it's important to do this because as human beings, our main purpose should be to serve one another and to help each other, um, make the world a simple, better place.

00:29:26.519 --> 00:29:32.759
And it doesn't necessarily take millions to be able to make a difference in people's world and in people's life.

00:29:32.920 --> 00:29:36.839
And I always say, you know, one act of generosity at a time, it all starts here.

00:29:37.000 --> 00:29:48.279
You know, for me, it's common sense, for example, that if I go to the supermarket and if I see a homeless man on the on the side of the supermarket, I'm not gonna give him money, but I'm gonna buy a loaf of bread and give it to him.

00:29:48.359 --> 00:29:48.519
Right.

00:29:48.680 --> 00:29:51.400
Because this is this is for me, it's common sense.

00:29:51.559 --> 00:29:57.720
If you see someone that is in need and you are able to help him or her, why don't you do it?

00:29:57.880 --> 00:30:02.359
Right, it's it's it's basic human being behavior, right?

00:30:02.519 --> 00:30:14.039
Right, and once you scale that, and once you can scale that and you have the ability, the network, the knowledge, the resources to be able to scale that at a higher level, then God bless.

00:30:14.119 --> 00:30:16.440
You know, this is this is this is great.

00:30:16.759 --> 00:30:20.039
But it doesn't take it doesn't take big actions, you know.

00:30:20.279 --> 00:30:26.920
Just one kind of one act of kindness and generosity always you know makes a different uh different.

00:30:27.079 --> 00:30:34.759
The one thing that I always taught my I have two daughters since their young age, the first thing that I told them is respect everyone the same.

00:30:34.920 --> 00:30:37.319
You know, in your life, whether it is a janitor, whether it's a C.

00:30:37.880 --> 00:30:41.799
Absolutely, a cashier everyone is at the same level.

00:30:41.960 --> 00:30:47.799
We are all humans, we're all human beings, we all live on the same planet, we are all connected one way or another.

00:30:47.960 --> 00:30:57.400
So don't risk disrespect anyone and don't pre- don't if someone makes you feel that you're less, just don't say anything, just push them on the side and continue your life.

00:30:57.880 --> 00:30:58.440
Absolutely.

00:30:58.599 --> 00:31:15.480
Yeah, and so you know, you know, um, I I would suggest say this too, is that it's imperative that companies obviously approach some model of compassion around the environments with them because your consumer base is more knowledgeable about your business practices than they ever have been.

00:31:15.720 --> 00:31:37.400
So, right now, you know, that that that board that may be on the sidelines of certain business practices, if only for their own economic survival, you know, in the future, we'll say our consumer base is very tech savvy, you know, the information is out there in real time, and if we're doing anything that could be judged as exploitative, it could be very bad for us.

00:31:37.640 --> 00:31:43.400
So um obviously nobody's perfect, you know, even the most vetted of companies and suppliers, things can happen.

00:31:43.559 --> 00:31:49.079
But I think if they're if their hearts in the right place while making money and producing goods, they have a great outcome for themselves.

00:31:49.319 --> 00:31:50.279
Absolutely, absolutely.

00:31:50.519 --> 00:31:50.839
You're right.

00:31:50.920 --> 00:31:53.400
Uh yeah, I think your heart in the right place is very important.

00:31:53.960 --> 00:32:00.119
Of course, there are um, you know, there are companies that there's a lot of companies out there that are doing great.

00:32:00.200 --> 00:32:05.160
Um we're we're more now in the in in the um in the chocolate space uh with cacao's.

00:32:05.240 --> 00:32:18.359
You have companies like Tony's Chocolone, a brand from the Netherlands, that's been you know ethical sourcing and circularity in their supply chain for for decades now, and they're doing great, they're expanding around the world uh and they're consumer-based.

00:32:18.599 --> 00:32:20.920
Of course, their chocolate is more expensive, but guess what?

00:32:21.000 --> 00:32:24.119
Your customers don't, when they buy your product, they just don't buy chocolate.

00:32:24.519 --> 00:32:25.400
They buy your store base.

00:32:25.559 --> 00:32:25.720
Right.

00:32:25.960 --> 00:32:30.599
It makes them feel good, not only the taste of chocolate, right, but it makes people feel good.

00:32:30.680 --> 00:32:36.599
You know, when you go and buy a t-shirt and you know that this t-shirt is is there's no child labor produced, right?

00:32:36.759 --> 00:32:44.519
That the material that you're buying are 100% uh recycled, that you're doing something good for the planet, then it makes you feel good.

00:32:44.599 --> 00:32:45.160
And guess what?

00:32:45.240 --> 00:32:46.119
This is dopamine.

00:32:46.359 --> 00:32:48.519
And as human beings, we crave dopamine.

00:32:48.680 --> 00:32:50.920
Yes, you know, and you can get dopamine from a lot of things.

00:32:51.079 --> 00:33:00.119
Either you, you know, some people drink, some people take drugs, some people go to the gym, and some people get dopamine from the rush of buying something that makes them excited.

00:33:00.440 --> 00:33:00.759
Exactly.

00:33:01.160 --> 00:33:05.799
And because they know it's good for them and for the planet, and it's a good purchase.

00:33:06.039 --> 00:33:10.680
So, um, all in all, as we were saying uh at the beginning, everybody wins.

00:33:10.759 --> 00:33:21.079
And I think there's a more and more conscious base of um consumers around the world, especially now with the new generations, that are not willing just to buy products for the sake of buying products, but to buy a story behind.

00:33:21.480 --> 00:33:35.240
And this is also where we come in with our company is that we work directly with marketing and branding departments of different companies to help them shape this story that we help create around the business deal so that the loop is completed.

00:33:35.400 --> 00:33:42.119
Just to give you a little example, with this Cocoa ask, uh it's turned into powder, and then the powder is reused in chocolate, right?

00:33:42.200 --> 00:33:44.599
It's made to make chocolate to add a certain flavor.

00:33:44.759 --> 00:33:51.960
Then what we help companies do is to say, okay, well, how you know you're doing this, but how do you promote this to your consumers?

00:33:52.119 --> 00:34:17.319
So, very simple ways that we came up with, for example, is to add a small um uh QR code on the chocolate barything that customers can tag, and then what it does on your phone, it's gonna pop up, and then we're gonna create a like a 20-second clip of all the communities that you're helping through your purchase of this chocolate, and then you're going to see that see that like, oh wow, what's gonna happen?

00:34:17.480 --> 00:34:22.920
Most probably is gonna buy two or two, three more chocolate bars, or the next time it comes, he's gonna remind you, oh yeah.

00:34:23.159 --> 00:34:29.800
The last time I opened this this this QR code, and by help by buying this chocolate bar, I'm helping these people.

00:34:29.960 --> 00:34:46.280
Well, I'm gonna tell my friends, and then you have a whole consumer base that is suddenly directly or indirectly involved with community empowerment through their purchase, and that increases their sell repetition, that increases the loyalty, the customer loyalty, and that increases your profit.

00:34:46.599 --> 00:34:48.679
So it's a no-brainer, it's a no-brainer.

00:34:49.000 --> 00:34:58.440
It really is, and so I always and I, you know, I like I said, I love a part two to this, I really do, because I think we can dive into some really important things that we haven't done already.

00:34:58.599 --> 00:35:02.039
Um, just because I want to be conscious of your time and I'm very appreciative of it.

00:35:02.199 --> 00:35:07.559
Where can people find Jean-Christian Ridoni and your the wonderful work you do with uh Symbiosis?

00:35:07.800 --> 00:35:11.320
Okay, so we um, you know, the best way to connect with us is through our website.

00:35:11.400 --> 00:35:15.480
So it's SIG Consulting.net or via LinkedIn.

00:35:15.559 --> 00:35:18.360
If you search my name, Jean-Christian Rindoni on LinkedIn.

00:35:18.440 --> 00:35:21.719
I'm very active on LinkedIn, I have a solid base of followers.

00:35:21.880 --> 00:35:36.280
And we, of course, we welcome any ideas, any uh like-minded people that would like to partner up with us or have any ideas of how we can grow our business together uh and you know, create some synergies to um you know promote business for good.

00:35:36.440 --> 00:35:51.559
And um, you know, we are always very much looking forward to the next project, to the next, I would say, um, challenge uh to um overcome and to help people overcome uh in whichever community or part of the world they're in, right?

00:35:51.719 --> 00:36:05.079
Considering what we know and the network we have, I believe that when you have um a mind collective mindset that is similar with the same vision and putting your heart in the right place, right?

00:36:05.159 --> 00:36:10.119
Uh while, of course, I insist enabling everyone to generate some profit because this is very important.

00:36:10.199 --> 00:36:12.360
I'm also a business, I need to generate profit as well.

00:36:13.000 --> 00:36:16.119
Then you have the right you have the right combination for success.

00:36:16.280 --> 00:36:30.280
But again, it's it's more of a long-term uh commitment uh in order to really uh create um sustainable and ethical business environment that benefits everybody that is involved.

00:36:30.519 --> 00:36:38.519
Absolutely, and you know, um I think one of the things that you've done well is that you've come in good faith and you've gotten great results as a result.

00:36:38.679 --> 00:36:45.800
So, whatever uh moment of clarity that hit with you, you're spreading it across the world and it's well received.

00:36:45.880 --> 00:36:49.800
And I'm looking forward to hearing about your continued success, and I'm looking forward to following up with you as well.

00:36:50.039 --> 00:36:51.000
Thank you, thank you, Rajad.

00:36:51.159 --> 00:36:51.639
Thank you again.

00:36:51.719 --> 00:36:53.320
You're doing a great job, by the way.

00:36:53.480 --> 00:36:56.280
Uh, you know, I've been I've been watching a lot of episodes of your podcast.

00:36:56.519 --> 00:36:56.920
I appreciate it.

00:36:57.000 --> 00:37:05.559
So it's a pleasure and an honor to uh to be able to join forces with you and uh hope we can continue the conversation uh in the coming weeks and coming months.

00:37:05.639 --> 00:37:06.280
So thank you so much.

00:37:06.519 --> 00:37:17.559
And any businesses that would be interested in uh partnering with Jean, Christian, Renani Um, and uh Symbiosis Infinity Group, please reach out to him or watch this episode, follow and his communication.

00:37:17.639 --> 00:37:20.840
I'd love to be the intermediary intermediary to help that process out as well.

00:37:21.159 --> 00:37:21.880
So thank you for your time.

00:37:22.119 --> 00:37:22.280
Thank you.

00:37:22.840 --> 00:37:23.480
Much appreciated.

00:37:23.800 --> 00:37:24.360
Much love to you.

00:37:24.519 --> 00:37:24.760
Thank you.

00:37:24.840 --> 00:37:25.079
Take care.
Jean-Christian Rindoni Profile Photo

Redefining Business Through Stewardship and Impact

Over the past year, Jean-Christian Rindoni’s perspective on business and life has evolved significantly. After more than two decades working across global markets in over 30 countries—building partnerships, managing supply chains, and developing international opportunities—he began to question the deeper purpose of business and the impact it creates.
Seeking clarity, he stepped away from constant activity and spent time in solitude in the mountains with his Labrador, Bud. During this period of reflection, he reexamined ideas of purpose, responsibility, and interconnectedness, ultimately viewing supply chains as ecosystems that can either extract or regenerate value.

This realization led to the creation of Symbiosis Infinity Group, an initiative focused on building responsible, ethical, and sustainable business ecosystems that bridge developing and developed markets. Today, his work centers on aligning profitability with social equity and environmental stewardship, redefining leadership as stewardship guided by purpose and awareness.