Speciality Coffee Rwanda

Speciality coffee is made with high-quality coffee beans. Producing high-quality beans requires care and attention from the farmer. The right location, soil and climate also add to the unique taste of the beans. Rwanda's hilly terrain and fertile soil make it ideal for growing speciality coffee. High-quality coffee is a popular drink and the worldwide demand for speciality coffee shows steady growth. So, the Rwandan speciality coffee sector has potential.

In 2019, the Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries (CBI) started the Speciality Coffee Rwanda project with Sustainable Growers and the National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB). The project aimed to develop a high-value, sustainable speciality coffee sector in Rwanda. Also, the project focused on helping Rwandan small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) export to the European Union (EU) independently.

Project goals

The project aimed to:

• Support farmers and producers in multi-crop farm management;
• Teach farmers and producers how to make a decent living out of multi-crop farming;
• Attract more youth to develop businesses in the Rwandan coffee sector;
• Create more traceable and transparent communication within the blockchain with Progreso;
• Improve opportunities for women in the sector.

Project participants and products

11 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and 2 umbrella organisations took part in this project. CBI also supported 2 business support organisations (BSOs).

You can Contact CBI to find out more or to get in touch with these exporters.

Partners

• Sustainable Growers;  
• National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB)

Activities

This project included:

• Training sessions on topics relevant to exporting to the EU, such as developing a corporate social responsibility (CSR) roadmap;
• Activities to increase participants' knowledge on sustainability and organic certifications. Some companies earned certifications, such as Rainforest Alliance, UTZ, Fairtrade, the National Organic Program (NOP) and the EU Organic certificate. With these certifications, participants have more selling options for their produce;
• Participation in the trade fair World of Coffee in Milan, 2022. There, the SMEs met European importers and made market connections. Also, they showcased their products and learned more about coffee grading;
• The launch of a multimedia campaign with Agriterra. The campaign focused on promoting youth inclusion and access to land and finance. Read more about the campaign.

Results

This project achieved all the goals it set out:

SMEs export capabilities

The business export coaching expert was able to continue online coaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, 12 out of 13 companies are export-competent.

A high-value, sustainable speciality coffee sector

5 organisations successfully achieved Utz certification audits. In addition, 2 companies achieved organic certification (EU and NOP) and 2 companies were able to renew their organic certifications.  Also, a team of at least 2 people in 13 companies has been trained to independently run their companies' internal CSR activities. So, in total 41 internal staff have been trained.

The EU export value mentioned in the certified results due to certification was €2,7 mln. This equals 29% of the total export in 2022 to the EU.

Multi-crop farm management and climate

Under the project a new strategy and new services on multi-crop farming were developed for Sustainable Growers, a BSO. Also, the project increased participants' knowledge on organic composting (among other topics) to increase soil and plant resilience to climate change.

Attracting more youth

Thanks to campaigns, workshops and competitions, the number of youths in SMEs increased from 600 to 1,100.

Traceable and transparent communication via blockchain

Individual company action plans for traceability (to women producers) and marketing were developed.

Better opportunities for women

The project also contributed to better opportunities for women by:

• Developing knowledge and skills on promoting women coffee;
• Improving the position of local women and their businesses in the sector;
• Developing a child care action plan.  

Get involved as an importer

Are you a European importer interested in Speciality Coffee from companies in Rwanda? Contact CBI to get more information or to meet with the suppliers from this project.