Five women-led Rwandan coffee businesses will present their products to more than 3,500 UK coffee shop owners, roasters and buyers as they seek commercial partners and access to the British market.
Generalities Ltd, Kalisimbi Kiwieds Coffee, Kinunu Agroprocessing Ltd, Nyamurinda Coffee Growers Ltd and RIXU Coffee will exhibit at Caffè Culture in London on September 29 and 30.
The trade show brings together coffee producers, roasters, importers, distributors and hospitality businesses at London’s Business Design Centre.
The Rwandan companies will exhibit in the Discovery Village through the International Trade Centre’s SheTrades initiative.
They will be represented by Marie Louise Murakatete of Generalities Ltd, Sonia Kamarade of Kalisimbi Kiwieds Coffee, Michaelle Kubwimana of Kinunu Agroprocessing, Immaculée Mukamana of Nyamurinda Coffee and Ritha Umutoni of RIXU Coffee.
Their participation follows a Rwanda-UK study visit held in March, during which the entrepreneurs met specialty coffee roasters, importers and distributors in London and Birmingham.
The visit helped them understand the requirements of the UK market and establish contacts ahead of the exhibition.
Murakatete, whose company operates two coffee-washing stations in Gisagara District, said the exhibition would give her an opportunity to introduce its coffee to a market it had not previously served.
Kamarade said marketing remained one of the main challenges facing coffee companies seeking customers abroad.
“The High Commission and other stakeholders have helped us do marketing for our coffee, which is honestly one of the hardest parts to branch out,” she said.
The initiative is supported by the British High Commission in Kigali and implemented by the International Trade Centre in partnership with the Private Sector Federation, which hosts the SheTrades Rwanda Hub.
Deputy British High Commissioner Jennifer Stockill said coffee was Rwanda’s second-largest export to the UK after tea. Rwanda exported coffee worth more than $5 million to the British market in 2024.
Rwanda’s coffee export earnings reached a record of nearly $150 million in 2025, representing a 65 per cent increase from the previous year. Export volumes rose by 39 per cent to 23,860 tonnes.
About 400,000 smallholder farming families in Rwanda depend on coffee for their livelihoods.
The participating businesses are involved in coffee production, processing, roasting and exporting. Some also work directly with women and smallholder farmers.
Their participation in Caffè Culture is intended to turn the contacts established during the March visit into commercial partnerships and new export opportunities for Rwandan coffee.
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