Clementine’s Story
Clementine Cyimpaye, coffee farmer and burgeoning entrepreneur, graduated from the Kula Fellowship in Nyamasheke at the end of last year. Before joining the program, Clementine told us she lacked both direction and community, often experiencing loneliness as a single mother of four. She was working to provide for her family through her coffee farm but wasn’t able to earn enough money to send all of her kids to school, having to make the impossible decision of which children she could afford to educate, and which ones she couldn’t.
Then, Clementine joined the Kula Fellowship. Upon attending the first training on Self-Esteem and Decision Making, she began to feel a shift in her mindset. From there, a spark of confidence was lit, allowing her to believe she was capable of more than she previously thought and giving her space to dream dreams of starting a new business — one that might transform her life and the lives of her children. She went on to participate in all Fellowship trainings, eager to learn how to take better care of her coffee farm, as well as learning to save and develop her idea of a future honey business. In preparation of presenting her business at the Business Investment competition, Clementine saved enough of her coffee harvest revenue in order to purchase 17 beehives through which she began gaining experience in beekeeping and demonstrating the growing market for her product. She then excitedly pitched her business of beekeeping at the competition, noting the novelty of her project as it would be the first honey business in the area. Because of her well articulated and designed business plan, Clementine won investment aimed at supporting her to expand and strengthen her new business. Since then, she has already hired four employees, two beekeepers/guards and two salespeople. She has also already established a partnership with a factory in Gisenyi, allowing her to transport and sell her honey through a consistent channel on Lake Kivu. Moving forward, she plans to add 20-30 more beehives to increase her production capacity and relocate her beehives to a more secure spot.
For Clementine, so much has changed. Because of her belief in herself and access to finance, she has been able to increase her monthly savings by 3900%, increase her annual income by 467%, and expand her coffee farm by 186%. She’s even shared her success with those around her – providing agronomy training to her neighbors and friends who also grow coffee. Perhaps most importantly, she no longer has to pick which of her kids get to go school, because she is able to send all four through the prosperity she has created.
