Her growth has been supported by the Value-Added Initiative to Boost Employment (VIBE), a five-year programme implemented by TradeMark Africa and the International Trade Centre (ITC) in partnership with Mastercard Foundation.
As part of the Foundation’s Young Africa Works strategy, VIBE helps Rwandan businesses grow through training, equipment support and connections to markets, creating employment opportunities particularly for young women, refugees and people with disabilities.
By March 2026, more than 26,000 young Rwandans had accessed employment or business opportunities through VIBE. By September, the programme had helped generate over 32,000 job opportunities for youth.
For Mukeshimana Clementine, business training and market connections helped transform chili farming into a processing enterprise.
“If our grandparents relied on agriculture to earn a living and educate their children, what reason would anyone have to claim that farming cannot make someone successful?” she asks.
But her journey began with hardship
In 2015, family and financial difficulties forced Clementine out of school. After vocational training, she started producing cosmetics and soap in 2017, investing just RWF 30,000.
Then COVID-19 struck, and customers disappeared.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, many activities were suspended, and the country went into lockdown. However, even after the lockdown, farmers continued cultivating their land,” she recalls.
That experience convinced her to embrace agriculture.
A RWF 1 million YouthConnekt award in 2021 helped her make the transition. The Ministry of Youth later provided solar equipment, while Imari Agribusiness, Imbuto Foundation and VIBE supported her expansion.
Today, ISARO Service Limited processes approximately 500 kilograms of chili monthly, supplying dried products to Fisher Global. Processing generates between RWF 200,000 and RWF 1 million per month.
But Clementine’s proudest achievement extends beyond money.
“When I started my company, I was working entirely on my own. I would go to the farm every day, cultivating the land by myself. But today, I employ at least 35 people.”
“Agriculture has transformed my life. Of course, I haven’t reached where I want to be yet, but the progress I’ve made so far is significant, and I’m proud of what I’ve achieved.”
For Clementine, farming is more than a business. It is a pathway to independence and an opportunity to transform other young people’s lives.
