Kenyan farmer William Macharia is making a significant impact in Rwanda’s agricultural sector. Macharia, who once sold shoes on the streets of Kigali, is now a successful entrepreneur who supplies agricultural produce in the East African region through his company.
Macharia’s journey to success started in 2007 when he moved to Rwanda from Kenya during the post-election skirmishes. He disclosed that opportunities had dried up in Kenya, and he had to find a new way to earn a living. He began hawking shoes that he had brought from Kariokor, a busy shopping center in Nairobi.
“I came to the country in 2010 by bus. Opportunities dried up at home after the 2007/2008 post-election violence so I decided to come here and give it a try. When I got here I started hawking shoes that I had brought from Kariokor to earn a living. I then saw an advert for a job at an agribusiness company and I was employed,” Mr Macharia told Citizen TV.
While working in Rwanda, Macharia stumbled upon an advertisement for an agribusiness job in a magazine. The advert piqued his interest, and he decided to apply.
“I learnt about the venture on agribusiness after reading a magazine advert at a boutique owned by a Kenyan here in Kigali. I then decided to apply for it,” he added.
During his training, Macharia impressed an investor, who later decided to partner with him to open up a company in Rwanda.
On his eight-acre farm, located in Bugesera district in eastern Rwanda, Macharia grows habanero chillies, sweet peppers, English cucumbers, sweet melons, and cherry tomatoes.
He exports more than 50% of his produce to Europe while the remaining is sold to high-end hotels and supermarkets in Bugesera and Kigali City. Macharia’s company is rated by the National Agricultural Export Development Board of Rwanda to generate at least $100,000 every year from vegetable production.
Macharia’s success in the agricultural sector has led to the formation of a farming company that supplies farming inputs to farmers across the East Africa region. He credits his success to the ideal climate, fertile soil, and an abundant, hardworking labour force in Rwanda.
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He also commends the Rwandan government for its friendly policies in the agricultural sector and its support for new business ventures.
“Here the Government has taken up large blocks of land and supports farmers to farm. They provide fertiliser and other incentives. Also tree planting to keep the land green and fertile,”Macharia says