Rwanda remains highly vulnerable to climate-related hazards. However, its capacity to adapt has grown remarkably over recent decades, mainly due to strategic investments in green financing. In the Eastern Province, the TREPA project is helping communities build resilience through sustainable land management, climate adaptation measures and diversified livelihoods.
The approach not only rehabilitates degraded landscapes but also creates resilient, productive systems that deliver both environmental and economic benefits for generations.
Central to this transformation are Savings and Credit Cooperatives, also known as SACCOs, such as Imbarutso SACCO in the Nyagatare District. These community-based financial institutions are offering tailored loans that support agroforestry, intercropping and conservation practices, helping farmers shift from vulnerability to opportunity.
Local Finance Driving National Climate Goals
SACCOs play a crucial role in advancing Rwanda’s National Climate Change Strategy as well as its Green Growth & Climate Resilience Strategy and Vision 2050. All emphasise environmental protection and sustainable development, and Imbarutso SACCO embodies these priorities with its focus on financial inclusion for smallholder farmers, youth and women.
‘We serve a population of 35,000 people, with a growing membership of 8,550,’ explains the SACCO manager, Isaiah Niyonsenga. ‘There is still much work to be done, and we remain motivated to keep innovating.’
One of the institution’s flagship products is the Plant Trees Climate Adaptation Loan. It offers working and investment capital to those involved in the tree nursery value chain, from producers and input suppliers to off-takers and distributors. The loan aims to promote climate-resilient livelihoods, support ecosystem restoration and enhance soil health, water retention and shade. It also strengthens community capacity to adapt to climate shocks.
Interest rates vary depending on the borrower category: individuals pay 20 per cent, youth and women 19 per cent, and persons with disabilities or groups 18 per cent. As Isaiah notes, ‘The interest rates vary based on different categories. This structure ensures responsible and inclusive finance.’
‘I Saw My Chance’
57-year-old Jean Uwimana, from Kirindimure Village, first discovered his interest in tree cultivation in 1989, when he worked as a caretaker for a small community nursery. For decades, he nurtured this passion, despite struggling to grow his business while supporting his nine children.
Everything changed when he discovered Imbarutso SACCO’s green loan programme. ‘When I heard about their green loans, I saw my chance,’ he recalls. After joining, the SACCO’s representatives visited his long-standing but modest nursery, which he had tended alongside an acre of avocado and citrus trees.
The loan opened the door to possibilities he had long imagined but never been able to afford. He bought high-quality seeds, potting bags and good soil. He installed shade nets and irrigation equipment, including water pumps, and for the first time could hire workers during busy seasons. ‘Before, I could only dream about these things,’ he says.
‘People used to see microfinance as purely profit-driven. That’s changing. Green financing proves we’re serious about social impact.’
Jean’s nursery has since expanded to two separate sites. During peak seasons, he employs as many as 120 workers, 80 of them women from the local community. His seedlings now travel far beyond his village, reaching customers along the Tanzania–Rwanda border, and all the way to Kigali. He has also expanded into agroforestry, experimented with tree cloning, and even ventured into coffee seedling production.
The change at home has been just as significant. ‘The green loans helped me install a proper water source and storage tank,’ he explains. ‘Now when my children need school fees or medical care, I don’t lose sleep worrying.’
He adds proudly, ‘I still save with Imbarutso SACCO because they believed in me when no one else would.’
A Community Transformed
Jean’s success has had a ripple effect throughout his community. Leaning against one of his mango trees, he describes how the benefits have spread. ‘Twelve of my employees have bought their own land from what they’ve earned here,’ he says. ‘They don’t just work for me, they’ve become teachers themselves, sharing agroforestry knowledge and helping others start nurseries.’ Sometimes, he adds with a laugh, he buys seedlings from his former employees to fill large orders from Kigali or Huye.
Asked whether he would choose a different path if given the chance, Jean does not hesitate. ‘If I could live my life again, I’d walk this same path with trees,’ he says.
Students often visit him during their school holidays. ‘They come to learn, and I share everything I’ve known since 1989. No charge. This is my legacy.’
Isaiah, from Imbarutso SACCO, has also witnessed shifts in attitudes. ‘People used to see microfinance as purely profit-driven,’ he says. ‘That’s changing. Green financing proves we’re serious about social impact.’
What began as an experiment has become a central component of community development. ‘We can’t stop now,’ he adds. ‘The community knows we’re invested in their future.’
With forest cover gradually increasing, Isaiah is already thinking ahead. ‘We have to think green at every stage,’ he says. ‘Mature forests mean new opportunities, like beekeeping products. The bees will thrive, and so will our environmental gains.’
Obstacles and Barriers Remain
Despite the progress, challenges remain. ‘The interest rates can still be high, limiting how much we can borrow,’ Jean admits.
Transporting delicate seedlings over long distances is another persistent difficulty, with broken plants eating into profits. To overcome these barriers, he hopes to find a business partner who can share both the workload and the financial risk.
Jean is already thinking about practical solutions. ‘I plan to buy a small truck to transport seedlings safely, and even earn from delivery services,’ he says.
Isaiah, meanwhile, sees competition among financial institutions not as a threat but as motivation: ‘It keeps us sharp in green financing.’
About TREPA
The Transforming Eastern Province through Adaptation (TREPA) project is a six-year initiative funded by the Green Climate Fund, running from 2021 to 2027. It aims to restore 60,000 hectares of degraded landscapes in Rwanda’s Eastern Province and enhance community resilience to climate change through sustainable agroforestry, improved land management and the development of climate-resilient value chains. The project is implemented through a partnership led by the Rwanda Forest Authority, involving IUCN, CIFOR-ICRAF, World Vision, and Cordaid.