Five women-led Rwandan coffee businesses will head to London to showcase their specialty coffee and seek new buyers and roasters as they look to expand their presence in the UK market.

The businesses will exhibit at Caffè Culture London, a major coffee industry event that brings together coffee buyers, roasters, exporters and other players in the sector.

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Their participation is supported through the International Trade Centre’s SheTrades programme, which helps women entrepreneurs improve their export readiness and connect with international markets.

Rwanda exported more than $5 million worth of coffee to the UK in 2024, making coffee one of the country’s leading exports to the British market after tea.

British Deputy High Commissioner to Rwanda Jennifer Stockill said the programme helps women-led businesses that are working with small-scale farmers and adding value to coffee produced in rural areas.

"We’re so delighted to be supporting some really talented female entrepreneurs to bring world-class Rwandan coffee to London and to grow export markets for this wonderful Rwandan product,” Stockill said on Tuesday, September 22.

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Stockill said UK’s growing specialty coffee market presents an opportunity for Rwandan producers, especially as consumers increasingly want to know where their coffee comes from and the story behind the product.

"London’s specialty coffee sector is therefore an important target market for the exporters, the Caffè Culture event will give them an opportunity to meet potential buyers and build business relationships,” she said.

Sonia Kamarade, the head of exports at Kalisimbi Kiwieds Coffee, said the support will help the company focus on reaching potential customers while continuing with its processing and export operations.

"While you’re doing processing, it’s very hard to also do marketing. So, they have taken up that responsibility for us and we are so excited to tap into the UK market and give them our specialty coffee,” she said.

Kalisimbi Kiwieds Coffee sources coffee from Northern and Eastern provinces, with farms located at elevations of 1,800-2,200 metres. The company already exports to the United States, Japan and the United Arab Emirates.

Kamarade said the company’s coffee was ranked sixth out of 322 lots in the Best of Rwanda competition, which she said demonstrated the quality of its product.

Immaculée Mukamana, founder of Nyamurinda Coffee, said the London exhibition is an opportunity to open a market she has not previously served while promoting coffee produced by women farmers.

Mukamana started growing coffee in 2012 before establishing a processing plant in 2016. Her business now works with 1,024 farmers, about 85 per cent of whom are women, and operates two processing facilities in Western Province.

She currently exports specialty coffee to Sweden, Italy and Singapore.

"We always wanted to enter the UK market, but we had never had the opportunity to take our coffee there. This exhibition gives us a chance to introduce Nyamurinda Coffee to buyers and show them what Rwandan women are producing,” Mukamana said.

She said the company will showcase several processing methods, including fully washed, anaerobic and natural coffee, giving buyers an opportunity to experience different profiles of Rwandan specialty coffee.

"We are taking different types of coffee, including fully washed, anaerobic and natural processes. Each one is processed differently and gives the coffee its own character. We believe this quality can help us find buyers and open a new market in the UK,” she said.

Marie Louise Murakatete, who represented Generalities Ltd, said Rwandan coffee also offers a wide range of flavours, with the altitude and conditions where the coffee is grown.

"The London event provides an opportunity to showcase Rwandan coffee directly to potential customers, and that market gives us a chance to tell the story of our coffee and build relationships that can help us grow our exports,” she said.

The companies’ participation in Caffè Culture follows a Rwanda-UK peer-to-peer study visit in March 2026, during which five Rwandan women entrepreneurs in specialty coffee engaged with coffee businesses and potential partners in London and Birmingham.

The programme aims to build on those initial market connections by giving the entrepreneurs another opportunity to meet potential buyers and negotiate new business relationships.

Gisele Umuhoza, SheTrades Coordinator in Rwanda, said the programme is intended to help women-owned businesses move from market exposure to actual trade opportunities.

She said connecting the businesses directly with UK buyers could help them secure new deals, expand their operations and create more jobs, particularly for women.