Root Capital: Access to Credit in Rwanda

In the aftermath of the 1994 genocide, devastated communities in Rwanda's coffee-growing regions struggled to rebuild. In 2005, the Dukundekawa coffee cooperative, also known as Musasa, became Root Capital's first client in Africa. Since its founding, the enterprise has grown from 300 to more than 1,800 members. As Musasa cooperative members explain in this video, a reliable source of credit is essential to their cooperative's growth.

Based on Musasa's contracts with leading specialty coffee buyers, Root Capital loans the cooperative money to purchase raw beans from its members. When the processed beans ship and buyers send their payment, a portion of the proceeds pays off the Root Capital loan. Since 2005, Root Capital has provided Musasa with more than one million dollars in financing.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• credit
• Africa
• African farmers
• East Africa
• coffee
• coffee farmers
• Root Capital
• growing rural prosperity
• social entrepreneur
• Entrepreneur
• social investment fund
• impact investing
• ecomomic development
• sustainable agriculture
• social entrepreneurship
• international development