TechnoServe

🇷🇼 Overview & History

• Presence since 2007: TechnoServe has operated in Rwanda for over 16 years, supporting coffee, dairy, pineapple, and youth entrepreneurship sectors.

• Local leadership: The Rwanda office, led by Country Manager Sophie Duchanoy, is located in Kigali and works closely with farmers, youth, cooperatives, and government partners.

🌾 Agriculture & Coffee Initiatives

• Coffee Initiative (2012–2016): Improved farmer agronomy, cooperative capacity, and access to finance and wet mill infrastructure.

  • Yield boosts ranged from ~55% to 160% in trained cooperatives within a year .

• Rwanda Ikawa Nziza Cyane (“INC”) Project: A 4-year initiative (co-funded by the EU, JDE Peet’s, and the Government of Rwanda) targeting 50 washing stations and ~50,000 farmers—boosting incomes, digital agronomy tools, financing, quality certification, and premium pricing.

🧑‍💻 Digital & Youth Engagement

• Mobile coffee app: Developed with the Government of Rwanda and Bank of Kigali to support farmers in tracking best practices and production.

• Youth training: Programs in collaboration with agricultural institutes and the Coffee Quality Institute connect young Rwandans to jobs in coffee processing—aimed at lowering the average coffee farmer’s age (~51 years)