Over twenty five years after the devastating genocide, Rwanda has made remarkable progress. However, around 68% of the population is employed in agriculture at a predominantly subsistence level. Rwanda’s 2020 vision aims to create 200,000 ‘off-farm’ jobs annually for (mostly) youth. SPARK has been contributing to this goal by making growth-orientated agribusiness entrepreneurs out of subsistence farmers. We support the creation of agricultural cooperatives, provide training for entrepreneurs and develop local value chains.
Programmes in this location
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active programme
Cassava Agribusiness Seed Systems (CASS)
Cassava is a vital crop for millions of smallholder farmers in Rwanda and Burundi. However, in recent years it has…
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active programme
Irish Potato Value Chain Financing (IPoVaF)
Since 2018, SPARK has been implementing the Irish Potato Value Chain Financing (IPoVaF) project to increase access to finance services…
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inactive programme
Capacity Development for Agricultural Innovation Systems (CDAIS)
Agriculture is Rwanda’s second biggest industry, after tourism. In order to improve the agribusiness environment for smallholder farmers working in…
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inactive programme
Cooperative Support Programme (CSP)
In order to generate jobs in the agricultural sector and boost rural economic growth, the CSP built the capacity of…
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inactive programme
MFS-II
MFS-II was a pivotal part of SPARK’s development as an expert organisation. Promoting entrepreneurship and job creation, MFS-II contributed to…

“Software to stop the spread”
Pacifique and his team noticed that many people still often use physical registration (writing using a pen and paper) when checking into hotels or signing up for goods and services. They came up with a plan to remove physical touch-points for consumers in order to limit the spread of the virus from person to person.
- Location
- Rwanda
- Services
- SME Coaching

“Software to stop the spread”
Pacifique and his team noticed that many people still often use physical registration (writing using a pen and paper) when checking into hotels or signing up for goods and services. They came up with a plan to remove physical touch-points for consumers in order to limit the spread of the virus from person to person.
- Location
- Rwanda
- Services
- SME Coaching

“Special delivery! Entrepreneur finds new ways to reach his customers”
Regis Umugiraneza, a 29-year-old Agribusiness graduate, had recently launched his company’s most successful product, Vitabread - a soft bread made from sweet potato. Umungiraneza was supplying over twenty five supermarkets around Rwanda with his bread until the lockdown.
- Location
- Rwanda
- Services
- SME Coaching

“Be patient, be persistent and make sure your business is valuable”
Regis Umugiraneza, a 29-year-old Agribusiness graduate, grew up surrounded by fields of sweet potato. He was four years old when the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi population claimed the lives of his father, sister and many other family members.
- Location
- Rwanda
- Services
- SME Coaching
Opening pathways to employment
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13669Youth Trained
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746MSMEs Supported
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348Businesses Created
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2904Jobs Created