On August 30, 2019, Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Dr Gerardine Mukeshimana, officiated the launch of an incubation center that is meant to accelerate the sustainable growth of Rwandan startups in the agricultural industry.
Dubbed ‘Envisage Youth Agribusiness Incubator,’ the new facility is a flagship project powered by a collaborative consortium of partners from both Rwanda and Finland; namely: Rwanda Youth in Agribusiness Forum (RYAF), Rwanda Business Development Fund (BDF), Local Universities (starting from Christian University of Rwanda, then University of Rwanda and University of Kibungo) – from Rwanda; as well as Hanken Entrepreneurship Society & Hanken Business Lab of Hanken School of Economics, University of Helsinki, and other top notch business incubators – from Finland.
Speaking at the opening of the Envisage Youth Agribusiness Incubator, Minister Mukeshimana called upon Rwandan, young people to take advantage of this facility to gain new skills, create companies and jobs along the agricultural value chain.

“Our vision is to create many companies in agriculture sector and food systems, and we want to do it with young people,” the Minister said, adding that food market presents huge opportunities for investment.

Thanks to the incubation center that is housed at the BDF premises, Gatenga Branch, the graduates innovate the agricultural industry, create jobs and strengthens the Rwandan economy.
Approximately seven to twelve startups will be incubated at a time in the incubator depending on the size of the teams.
The teams gain access to top international and local mentors, partnerships with local and global organizations and access to financial networks. They get trained in all vital aspects of business, such as sales, marketing, product development and business administration.
Similar incubation centers will be set up across the country in partnership with the Business Development Fund (BDF). They will be housed in BDF premises.