Rwanda is a small landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of East Africa. With more than 500 inhabitants per square kilometre, Rwanda has the second highest population density in Africa with a population growth rate of 2.6%, reaching an estimated 14.4 million inhabitants in 2024.
Agriculture is the most important economic sector in Rwanda. Around 72% of the working population is employed in agriculture. At the same time, however, the agricultural sector only accounts for 33% of the national GDP and is not able to feed the entire population sufficiently. Rwandan agriculture is heavily dependent on rainfall and susceptible to climate shocks. The low level of productivity is due to the low use of sustainable fertilisers, outdated production techniques and inefficient cultivation methods. There is also a lack of capacity to process and refine agricultural products locally. The reasons for the unutilised processing capacities lie in the lack of suitable technologies, expertise and access to financing. Although various promising approaches are known from applied research, these have so far only been implemented selectively.
The project supports Start-ups and existing agribusinesses in the development and scaling of technological and financial services for smallholder farmers. The aim is to develop innovative, climate-friendly products and services to improve the productivity, nutritional value of products or market access of Rwandan smallholders.
Start-ups receive comprehensive support during the start-up phase, including incubation, networking with potential mentors and business partners and access to customized, accessible financing solutions.
Replicable solutions for the food system are sought, including the transport and processing of agricultural products through farm-to-fork systems. Farm-to-fork systems, also known as "farm-to-table", are food production and distribution systems that aim to create a direct link between farmers and consumers. These systems aim to promote sustainability, transparency and traceability throughout the supply chain, from the initial farming to the final consumption of the food.
By promoting replicable business models, the project contributes to three objectives: 1) increasing incomes and thus improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers, 2) improving the Rwandan food ecosystem and food security, and 3) climate change mitigation and adaptation trough increased resilience to climate shocks.
A particular focus will be on women-led businesses and solutions for them, acknowledging that subsistence farming is mostly practiced by women.
This project is part of the Swisscontact Development Programme, which is co-financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA.