{"id":5336,"date":"2026-11-14T16:30:36","date_gmt":"2026-11-14T16:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/?p=5336"},"modified":"2026-11-14T16:30:36","modified_gmt":"2026-11-14T16:30:36","slug":"young-agripreneurs-secure-rwf100-million-expansion-boost-from-imbuto-foundation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/14\/young-agripreneurs-secure-rwf100-million-expansion-boost-from-imbuto-foundation\/economy\/business\/","title":{"rendered":"Young agripreneurs secure Rwf100 million expansion boost from Imbuto Foundation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Iliza Cindy, Imbuto Foundation\u2019s Director of Operations.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ten young entrepreneurs in Rwanda\u2019s agriculture sector have each received Rwf10 million from Imbuto Foundation to expand their businesses, following the third edition of the Imali Agribusiness Challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The winners were selected from 15 youth-led businesses that took part in the competition, organised in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources and Friends of Imbuto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The awards followed a six-month programme during which participants received training and business skills to help them improve their operations and prepare for growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the beneficiaries is Ongeza Initiative Company Ltd, based in Karongi District, which produces fragrances using plants and fruits such as pineapples, mangoes and bananas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Th\u00e9r\u00e8se Muzigamabanga Ongeza, who represented the company, said the Rwf10 million award would help her acquire machinery and increase production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI used to rely on manual labour. I am now going to buy a machine that will make the work faster,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said the investment could raise the company’s daily production from 20 litres to 50 litres. She also plans to recruit three additional workers, while farmers supplying the business with raw materials are expected to benefit from increased demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another winner, Global Green Project, operates in Kayonza and Gatsibo districts, where it produces avocado and coffee seedlings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its representative, Fiston Bigirimana, said the company would use the funding to expand its production space from 300 to 600 square metres and acquire modern equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The business currently employs six permanent workers and 25 temporary workers. Bigirimana said it planned to add four permanent positions and 30 temporary jobs as operations expand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also highlighted the value of the training provided through the challenge, saying the knowledge gained would be important in managing the business as it grows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe money is needed, but I think the knowledge we received is even more valuable than the Rwf10 million,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other eight winning businesses are Avoranco Farms, Tante Beauty, Vextra Sachet, TTT Processing Agency, Kold Rwanda, Light Farmers, Agrodiol and Bana Bags Ltd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iliza Cindy, Imbuto Foundation\u2019s Director of Operations, said the organisation was committed to supporting young people with innovative ideas and the ambition to make agriculture a profitable business that creates jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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She urged the winners to research market demand, improve their business plans and seek information from financial institutions and organisations offering financing and business advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Imali Agribusiness Challenge was launched three years ago to support young people in agriculture. According to the information provided by the organisers, 25 businesses won awards in the first two editions held in 2023 and 2024, receiving a combined Rwf250 million.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ten young entrepreneurs in Rwanda\u2019s agriculture sector have each received Rwf10 million from Imbuto Foundation to expand their businesses, following the third edition of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5338,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50,2,43,53,34,40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agriculture","category-business","category-current_affairs","category-featured-stories","category-national","category-top_stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5336"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5336\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5341,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5336\/revisions\/5341"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}