Sector: Circular economy and Sustainable energy

Rwanda is an ideal country for dairy production thanks to its stable climate and good infrastructure. Milk collection centres are located all over the country and a lot of Rwandese have their own cattle.

Rwandan entrepreneur Milton Ngirente installed in 2004 several milk kiosks in the city of Kigali where people could buy raw milk produced by farmers’ cooperatives. But he quickly noticed a lot of surpluses, so he started with a small production unit in 2012. A few years later the dairy company Blessed Dairies was born. Nowadays Blessed Dairies sells and distributes several milk products in Rwanda. Thanks to the production of various milk products such as pasteurized milk, cream, mozzarella and yoghurt, Milton can create added value. Nevertheless the company still faces a lot of challenges, that’s why Milton contacted one of our Business Development Managers to ask for Exchange support.

In August 2019 Milton Ngirente was very happy to welcome Catherine Gilain-Pycke to conduct a feasibility study at Blessed Dairies. Catherine is the managing director of Inex  and was one of the leading persons to develop this Flemish family company into one of the biggest players in dairy business in Belgium.

After a positive feasibiliy study Catherine decided to get involved in this new Exchange Growth Programme with Blessed Dairies as a coach. In October 2019 Milton Ngirente traveled to Bavegem to see the impressive production unit of Inex. Milton and Catherine also made a first draft of the growth programme.

The growth programme with Blessed Dairies that started at the beginning of 2020 has several objectives: first of all the strategic management and the marketing plan of Blessed Dairies needs an update. Also the improvement of the quality management will be a main issue to address. Blessed Dairies also wants to improve its processes and production techniques. Last but not least Inex will also advice Blessed Dairies regarding the ideal machines for dairy production and the lay out of the new production unit.

The first phase of the growth programme has been finished. Evariste Mariyamungu was welcomed by Inex in January 2020 for an intensive internship of 10 days. Inex provided an interesting programme tailormade to the objectives of Blessed Dairies. In 2020 Blessed Dairies is now taking action with all the lessons learned to improve Blessed Dairies. Inex is available at any time for advice and will support Blessed Dairies from a distance. In 2021 we will evaluate if a second coaching mission by Catherine is necessary and if any specific expertise is needed by Blessed Dairies. To be continued!

Mozambique produces 3.5 million tons of waste per year, i.e. an average of 120 kilograms per inhabitant per year, around 9 thousand tons per day throughout the country. Only 2% of this waste receives adequate treatment today. The remaining 98% of waste still goes directly to landfills and causes environmental and public health problems.

However, with the right attitude, waste can even be properly assessed as a resource, a material that can be recovered and made into new products.

Therefore, concrete work is being done by 3R, or "Reduzir, Reusar e Reciclar Limitada" (Reduce, Reuse & Recycle) in the cities of Maputo, Beira and Vilanculos. 3R provides integrated waste management services for extensive and large organizations and builds waste processing infrastructure throughout Mozambique. Her vision is the creation of a clean environment for current and future generations through the transformation of the waste sector in Mozambique.

At the moment, waste is sorted at the source as much as possible and collected both from the large companies and from the "Ecopoints", 3R's collection points which are strategically spread over the city and its suburbs.

Together with its 50 employees, 3R also provides indirect job security to the now more than 1000 collectors in the city. 3R's transformation of the waste sector will give the least-favored Mozambicans a full-fledged job and make the environment cleaner for current and future generations.

Moreover, materials such as PET, HDP and aluminum can now get a new life. In a next phase, even more waste streams will be included in this recycling circuit, such as liquid and medical waste.

Under the guidance of coach Vincent van hoorbeeck, managing partner of 'Impala', a collaboration between 3R and Exchange has recently started with the aim of building up at least 3 waste processing facilities and achieving a full ISO quality certification that allows them to grow to a medium sized company. In addition, 3R also wants to convert PET into reusable products (tiles, packaging straps, building blocks, ...) for sale on the local / regional market as an alternative source of income. We wish 3R, our coach and team of experts every success!

At Agruni, waste sorting is currently still done by hand on the Nduba dump site. Of course, the organic waste is already 'contaminated' by non-organic waste, making it difficult to make a solid compost from it. It has been proven that compost, provided the correct composition, increases the harvest significantly.

In this growth programme, Exchange will therefore mainly focus on the realization of usable compost on the basis of the collected organic waste. And let that be just one of the areas of expertise in which Flanders plays a pioneering role.

For example, we find a great deal of knowledge at the inter-municipal environmental company Ecowerf in East Brabant. For many years, Ecowerf has been responsible for waste prevention, waste collection and waste processing in 27 municipalities and cities. The company has also achieved a great deal in the domain of composting. Therefore, Exchange Coach Wouter Janssens, from Ecowerf, is extremely well placed to take on this role.

To further optimize the entire chain of operations, Exchange is also working with Agruni to see how current waste collection and transport can be organized even more efficiently.

Agruni is highly noted for its modern HRM policy and social commitments. Outside of the fact that half of the 1,800 employees are female, the company works with a savings fund. Vulnerable and sick employees are still guaranteed incomes. Plus, it offers a micro-financing formula to its own personnel. As a result, they can access loans that are more beneficial than those available through traditional channels. Agruni also supports a range of social projects every year, helping it to be recognised as an eminently sustainable company.  

The growth programme with Agruni has great potential: Mr Jean-Paul Shiraniro is a born entrepreneur with plenty of daring. Together with Exchange and Ecowerf, Agruni can ensure that Rwanda can further build on its image as a clean country. The great dream of recycling and valorizing all the collected waste remains. And where there’s a will (and a dream), there’s a way!