This collaboration aims to increase financial access to at least 75,000 farmers, 70% of whom are women, facilitating loans worth RWF 5.2 billion ($4 million) over the next three years.
By Our Reporter
The USAID-funded Feed the Future Rwanda Hinga Wunguke Activity, implemented by Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA), recently unveiled four new partnerships aimed at improving access to inclusive financial services for 500,000 farmers across Rwanda, with a focus on women, youth, and people with disabilities (PWDs).
Disclosed at a launch event held on December 10, 2024, the initiative includes partnerships with Rwandan FinTech firms BK TecHouse and Exuus, which would co-invest a combined RWF 1.18 billion to enhance digital financial solutions for farmers and agribusinesses.
Scaling digital financial solutions
BK TecHouse will receive co-investment totaling RWF 515,597,000 (approximately $370,678), with Hinga Wunguke contributing RWF 198,597,200.
The funding will enhance BK TecHouse’s Smart Nkunganire System (SNS) credit-scoring model, allowing for integration with commercial banks and microfinance institutions (MFIs) to provide digital loans.
The initiative will reach over 430,000 farmers subsequently addressing affordability and access challenges for subsidised input supplies.
Exuus, another key partner, will benefit from a co-investment of RWF 664,633,610 (approximately $477,824), with Hinga Wunguke contributing RWF 199,495,500.
This collaboration aims to increase financial access to at least 75,000 farmers, 70% of whom are women, facilitating loans worth RWF 5.2 billion ($4 million) over the next three years.
Empowering women and youth
In addition to digital solutions, partnerships with Rugori Investment Network (RIN) and the Rwanda Youth in Agriculture Forum (RYAF) aim to support women, youth, and PWD-led agribusinesses. These organisations will provide business development services to empower more entrepreneurs to access mainstream financing and actively participate in agrifood systems.
Addressing participants during the launch event, Daniel Gies, Chief of Party for Hinga Wunguke, emphasised the importance of strategic partnerships in overcoming financial barriers for farmers and agribusinesses.
“We’re excited to build and consolidate strategic partnerships in the finance industry to address critical barriers that inhibit farmers and agribusinesses from accessing credit,” Gies said.
The event featured panel discussions and networking opportunities, highlighting innovative approaches to agricultural finance and exploring solutions to barriers in the sector.
The new partnerships complement Hinga Wunguke’s existing collaborations with the Bank of Kigali, Equity Bank, MFIs, and 13 SACCOs under the Association of Microfinance Institutions of Rwanda (AMIR).
Driving Growth through Agriculture
The Hinga Wunguke initiative, a $29.7 million, five-year project (2023–2028), seeks to enhance incomes and nutritional outcomes by improving agricultural productivity and strengthening markets for high-value and nutritious crops.
Operating in 13 districts, the program focuses on sustainable solutions to transform Rwanda’s agricultural sector.
Egide Gatari, the officer in charge of the ‘Nkunganire’ programme at the Agency for the Development of Agriculture and Livestock (RAB), pointed out that due to the information provided by technology that illustrates the performance of each farmer and what he/she seeks to invest in, there is confidence that financial institutions would invest in agricultural activities.
Gatari noted that the government would seek to see farmers receiving capital at a low double-digit interest rate (less than 10%).
