The Bank of Kigali (BK) and the Embassy of Israel on August 13th hosted the first in a roundtable series focused on the dairy industry, a step towards advancing Rwanda's agri-business sector. This event is part of BK's broader strategy to connect Rwandan and Israeli industry leaders, encouraging collaboration and innovation. Far beyond its role as a lender, Bank of Kigali is actively facilitating these partnerships to drive meaningful progress in the agricultural sector. During the roundtable, representatives from Israeli companies including Galil Engineering Group, Afimilk, Ambar, YanyTech, and Conceptpharma were among the attendees and some of them gave their presentations, showcasing innovative solutions and technologies designed to enhance the efficiency and productivity of Rwanda's dairy industry. Nimrod Weiss, co-CEO of Galil Engineering Group, one of Israel's largest engineering and construction firms, which also focuses on sectors like agro-industry, energy, and defence, noted their long-standing partnership with Bank of Kigali. He said that there is a $280 million project that is going to start which aims to convert methane gas from the Lake Kivu into compressed natural gas for various uses, including power plants, cement plants, defence industries, and the private sector. Additionally, Weiss also noted insights into an international project—a large-scale dairy farm. If I remember correctly, I think it started with 30,000 milking cows, he noted, describing the farm's expansive one million square metres of buildings and 25,000 tonnes of steel construction. Raanan Dahari, Director Manager of Afimilk, a company specialising in advanced dairy farm management systems, emphasised the importance of cow welfare and proper farm management in maximising farm productivity. Their system, he said, can manage a large number of cows and milking stations, making it affordable for farms of various sizes. Farms can start small with basic equipment, such as cow monitoring systems that track cow behaviour, including detecting cows in heat or signs of illness. “As the farm grows, additional equipment like milk metres and tags can be added to expand the system's capabilities, eventually providing a full solution for managing the farm,” he said. Yossi Gagamo, Deputy Ambassador at the Embassy of Israel to Rwanda, emphasised that optimising milk production is a major challenge. In Israel, we have a mission to optimise milk production, and several companies have been key to that success. The idea was to share different types of solutions that help to lead the reforms in Israel, making milk production more efficient, more cost-effective, and also improving the quality, he said. Levi Gasangwa, Chief Business and Corporate Solutions at Bank of Kigali Plc, noted the bank's intention to strengthen partnerships with Israeli companies, acknowledging their capacity to significantly enhance productivity. He emphasised the bank's commitment to scaling up agribusinesses, particularly in the dairy sector, which is a key agricultural value chain with significant export potential. He noted the recent launch of the Inyange powder dairy plant, where 80% of the production will be predicated on exports. Gasangwa also said the importance of technology in monitoring cow health and making informed decisions and mentioned partnerships with Israeli companies and Inyange to ensure best practices throughout the value chain. One of the goals for us is, how can we help our agribusinesses to scale up? he said. He noted the transformative impact of technology, particularly agrotech, in advancing businesses despite limited land and challenging climates. Gasangwa said that the bank's commitment is to listen to key players in the industry. We are building tailor-made products for this specific value chain, to ensure that we design products that they actually need. And we are listening to them, because they are the experts. He also stressed the importance of providing correctly priced loan facilities and guiding businesses to achieve sustainable growth.
