The 2025 coffee harvest in Rwanda has begun, and farmers are beginning to bring their cherries to producer Rwamatamu. As described in our letter of intent update, Rwamatamu gain the finance to buy coffee cherries from the farmers they work with by applying for funding via the banks and Root Capital, an American nonprofit company that specialises in providing loans for agricultural businesses.
However, since applying for their annual loan at the end of last year, Rwamatamu have not heard back from either, and are instead having to use personal finances to purchase cherries.
We at Omwani have also sent Root Capital an email vouching for Rwamatamu, but have also not had a response.
We suspect that the silence is due to the ongoing DR Congo conflict and Rwanda’s alleged involvement, but as we haven’t heard from either bodies we can neither confirm nor deny this theory.