It is a combination that should be a recipe for success. Rwanda’s premiere bank, the Bank of Kigali, USAID, gets behind the government’s programme to support Rwandan farmers, to modernise farming methods, and increase their capacity to access export markets.
In line with the government of Rwanda’s vision for a reformed agricultural sector, that is both sustainable, and commercially viable, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is supporting Rwandan farmers of today and tomorrow, with the ‘Feed the Future, Rwanda, Kungahara Wagura Amasoko’, or prosper as you broad markets.
The Feed the Future programme, is the American government’s initiative to tackle global hunger and ensure food security.
Focusing on thirteen of Rwanda’s thirty-five districts, the five-year Kungahara Wagura Amasoko project, aims “to unleash the potential of Rwanda’s high value agricultural export sector, to drive sales, create jobs, and increase incomes.”
As might be expected with a project of its kind, there is a strong emphasis on the public sector, working hand in hand with the private sector. Accordingly, a memorandum of undersanding was signed with the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MINICOM), which will draw in other relevant ministries and agencies, like the National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB), and the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), as the project is implemented.
Arguably a most important aspect of the private sector, is the financing for farmers. This is where the Bank of Kigali, puts its considerable footprint forward.
The Bank has an entire department, which includes agronomists, dedicated to the promotion of agriculture and structuring loans for farmers.
“At Bank of Kigali, we promise to fuel the dreams of our customers in agribusiness, by providing tailored financial solutions for sustainable agricultural success” the bank assures.
Behind the promise, is an impressive array of services, from capital for production of specific crops, loans for capital assets, including agricultural vehicles to providing cash credit lines.
It is probably fair to say that it would be difficult to imagine circumstances in which a responsible prospective borrower would be turned away. It is a reassuring wraparound support for a sector, whose success is often dependent on the vagaries of weather.
