Eight Rwandan associations and cooperatives are set to benefit from a $50,000 (Rwf33 million) grant this year under the US Ambassador’s Special Self-Help Fund. The funding agreement was signed on Wednesday by Donald W. Koran, the US Ambassador to Rwanda, and the representatives of the select cooperative beneficiaries. The fund will help associations operating small business projects such as juice manufacturing, fabric printing, animal husbandry, among others. Salient projects"The projects to be funded this year demonstrate a strong element of initiative and vision. They address acute health, educational, and socio-economic needs for their beneficiaries and the communities where people live,” the US Embassy in Kigali said in a statement. The statement notes that it is common for a single Special Self-Help Fund to directly improve the living conditions of more than 100 people and indirectly benefit the country. "By empowering Rwandans to come together, to create sustainable cooperatives, and to run their own businesses, the Special Self-Help programme successfully addresses widespread development challenges while catalysing opportunities at the grassroots level.” The ambassador’s Special Self-Help Fund is active in 46 sub-Saharan African nations, including Rwanda.