Originally from Sweden, Rickard's international development journey started when, during his BS in Biotechnology from Lund University, he wrote his thesis with a cooperative in Tanzania. The topic was on transforming coffee husks into briquettes. There he saw how the main issue was the lack of access to financial resources.

After completing a second BSc in Politics and Economics from Lund, Rickard worked for the Swedish Embassy in Liberia on environmental issues. These experiences led to him moving to the Netherlands to do an MSc from Utrecht University in Sustainable Development, specializing in International Development. He aimed to combine his technical and social science knowledge to help developing countries grow sustainably. 

During and since graduating, Rickard has worked for the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), The Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), The European Commission, the network AMEA that aims to develop a global ISO standard for SMEs in developing countries, and for an NGO working on climate migration in Bangladesh.