A loan helped to buy more fertilizers and suppport labor costs during maize production.


Apauline's story

Apauline is 50 years old. She is married to a farmer and they have five children.

She has been a maize farmer for six years. She will use the Kiva loan to support labor costs and buy fertilizers during maize production. She needs to buy fertilizer in order to increase their production. With profits from her farming, she wishes to invest in her business so that in the future she can acquire machines and tractors that will enhance her farming capacity.

The agriculture sector accounts for 37% of Rwanda's gross domestic product, generates 65% of Rwanda's export revenue, and employs approximately 90% of Rwandans (as of 2009). Despite the importance of agriculture to Rwandans and their economy, financial institutions view lending to fund agricultural activities as a high-risk proposition because the profitability of these activities is affected by weather, natural disasters, and price fluctuations. For this reason, farmers in Rwanda remain underserved by financial institutions. Urwego Opportunity Bank is expanding into this market and is happy to provide Kiva lenders with the opportunity to support Rwandan farmers.



Loan details


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Loan details