Rwanda is speeding toward its goal of becoming a developed, climate-resilient, and carbon-neutral economy. By leveraging regenerative agricultural practices, a newly launched carbon market framework, and an impressive record of innovation, Rwanda is building a thriving ecosystem for private sector partnerships. Indeed, the World Bank this year named Rwanda as a top performer worldwide for business and investment climate, and highest-ranked in the Africa region. It is this vision—paired with a policy and regulatory environment second to none in Africa—that drew our company, Oath Africa, to establish its headquarters in Rwanda. As President Kagame said last year, “we want the private sector to play a greater role in building a green economy.” Oath Africa is committed to restoring and replenishing Rwanda’s soil to improve agricultural outputs and advance the country’s climate renaissance. Together, we can simultaneously increase agricultural yield and sequester carbon to create a billion-dollar export market. Championing regenerative Agriculture Rwanda is laser-focused on growing its agriculture sector. It is the country’s main source of economic activity with 70 percent of the population working in agriculture. Given its importance, the Rwandan government and its partners, including Bridge2Rwanda, are promoting regenerative agriculture to increase productivity, build an inclusive green economy, and mitigate the risks of climate change. Increasing yield is widely understood to be an imperative: the World Bank, for example, has noted agricultural yields have plateaued or even dropped since 2013 and Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that 1.4 millions of tonnes of soil per year is lost due to soil loss, erosion, and decreasing fertility. That is why the Rwandan government is helping to facilitate a transition to regenerative agriculture, seizing on cutting-edge agronomic practices as the keys to productivity and economic sustainability. It is also a conviction that we share at Oath Africa. Our technology, backed by over 30 years of research and development, will aid in this effort, increasing soil’s water holding capacity and making nutrients more accessible to crops. We wholeheartedly subscribe to the Ministry of Environment’s approach, articulated in its revised Green Growth and Climate Resilience Strategy (GGCRS), that private companies should play a dominant role “in this green transformation journey.” Building a Carbon Market Rwanda is also leading the way to develop a carbon market to reduce greenhouse emissions, catalyze public and private funds, and contribute to the country’s sustainable development. Rwanda's carbon market framework is relatively new, having been launched in December 2023, but is already a step ahead of other African countries. With Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) as the nation’s carbon market regulator, there is unbridled enthusiasm about the potential for high-quality carbon credits. It is already attracting major players in this sector, including Kuwait, Singapore, and Sweden, promising to generate hundreds of millions of dollars and assist Rwanda to fulfill its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Rwanda’s progress toward a world-class carbon market and its sound policy framework, reaffirmed by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning recently released Climate and Nature Finance Strategy (CFNS), is another enticement for our company. Indeed, the CFNS is explicit about the “potential for private investment to drive climate and nature-positive outcomes,” through investments in carbon sequestration. Oath Africa’s use of naturally occurring, non-GMO, beneficial soil microbes restore soil’s natural ability to increase fertility, nutrient cycling, and carbon sequestration. In other words, we have the capability, through carbon removal credits, to substantially increase the prosperity of the Rwandan people, especially for millions of smallholder farmers. Promoting Innovation Rwanda’s well-earned reputation as an innovative hub is another reason for optimism. The government has been keen to work with partners to spur development through technology and innovation, launching a drone delivery system with Zipline, developing a space capability with Japan, strengthening ICT with Carnegie Mellon University, and hosting the Global AI Summit on Africa with the World Economic Forum in 2025. These examples underpin Rwanda’s attractiveness as an innovation sandbox, a country where entrepreneurs and technology firms pioneer breakthroughs that deliver benefits for Rwanda and the wider world. In fact, it is part and parcel of Rwanda’s strategy. As ICT Minister Ingabire has said, “it’s not about just creating the solution for Rwanda, it’s also finding ways to scale that solution beyond just Rwanda.” The government’s ethos is consonant with our approach at Oath Africa. We believe that the impeccable science behind our soil treatment and the unparallelled technology powering our measurement, reporting, and verification system is perfectly suited for Rwanda. The country offers a safe and welcoming environment to showcase our company’s impact and advance our mission to replenish the world’s soils. Moreover, our partnership with the University of Rwanda and other organizations is creating high-skilled job opportunities for the next generation of young professionals who are trained in STEM fields, including with technical capabilities to measure carbon. We already have had remarkable results: in our initial trial in Rwanda, we increased agricultural yield by roughly 50 percent within the first 45 days of administering the product. Partnering with Oath Africa Rwanda’s march to becoming a developed, climate-resilient, and carbon-neutral economy is continuing apace. It is fundamental to realizing the country’s Vision 2050, and integral to the priorities identified by the government’s recently approved National Strategy for Transformation (NST-2). We believe Oath Africa will be an essential partner in advancing these goals, especially growing the agricultural sector and boosting the country’s exports. Our nature-based, mission-driven approach is not only a good match for Rwanda, but we are confident that success in Rwanda will point the way toward future successes in Africa. Oath Africa wants to be part of that future.
