Who doesn't love 'easy business in Africa'?! If you have followed me for a while, you will know that I personally simply love African business models that you can start building today without major hassle. The kind of models where you do not need any investment, apply for construction permits, struggle with imported material at the ports or wait for the approval of other people. The kind of model you can start on a shoestring budget in Africa immediately – starting small and then growing it organically.
Today, I have again such a business model for you!
We are talking about a form of tourism and related tours that are being increasingly promoted: It's called agro-tourism and it is gaining fast in popularity among foreign travellers visiting certain African countries. A significantly growing number of tourists travelling to Africa want to connect to the people, culture, and traditional products there in order to have a more authentic, connected and educational experience.
Easy Business in Africa? Let's start with doing some quick calculations
I don't want to take the essence of the article below away, it will explain agro-tourism to you using a great example and success story. But bear with me for one more minute. Because as always, I love to do the maths.
So let's say you put a wonderful half-day or 1-day agro-tourism tour together, which is rich in experience. You charge – say $100 – for your unique tour outside the capital city (and be creative to make it unique! You can start charging less in the beginning until you become very good at it all and word spreads). Then you get 10 people for your tour. That makes $1,000 per tour.
Let's say your target is to offer that tour 3 days a week, or in other words, 12 times a month. And voila – you have an income of $12,000 a month working part-time and with minimal running cost! You can of course scale that – train and employ tour guides who work for you and then you can offer more tours across the country or even in neighbouring countries. Grow your tour venture to five of such unique tours with different local themes or in different countries and you will earn $60,000 each month!
My dear Africa Business Jumpstarters, it can be done! You just need to be prepared to start small, be creative, incredibly determined, and: you need to provide great standards and always over-deliver to your customers! This way your brand gets respected and people are happy to pay for the higher charges.
Enjoy the article and the dream!
Why 10 Americans joined a Coffee Experience Tour in Rwanda
Need is the mother of all innovations, goes an old adage. It is also true that solutions to most of our problems are always around us. So, when a Huye-based farmer sought sustainable ways to market local coffee and promote Rwanda's unique tourism attractions to the outside world, the resources at hand came in handy.
The farmer created a 'coffee experience tour' hiking trail across the Huye Mountain Coffee plantation and the historically important Nyirankoko hill just above the plantation. Where does the coffee you drink at Ban Café or any other coffee houses come from? Or why would one visit a coffee or tea farm, or a cattle ranch? These questions are expounded on during the hike and, by the time one descends the hill, they are ready to roast and brew their first coffee as the hike takes you through all the stages of the coffee production process, right from planting to roasting and coffee brewing. The 'coffee tour experience' trail is unique in that it has created a synergy, promoting agriculture and tourism as one product.
This agro-tourism initiative is essential as the country seeks more products to market to the world and boost tourism receipts. It is even more important as it creates awareness about the two sectors, helping expand their markets and add value to clients' experience in the process.
The approach has made it possible for farmers working with Huye Mountain Coffee to get a ready market abroad and better prices for their coffee. Besides, it strengthens efforts by the government and other stakeholders to create 200,000 off-farm jobs per annum under the second Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS II). Innovative approaches like this one will play an instrumental role in helping the country realise this objective.
Agro-tourism, in simple terms, involves any agriculturally based operation or activity that brings visitors to a farm or ranch, according to Farm Concern international (FCI), an Africa- wide market development agency focusing on commercialisation of smallholder farmers and agro- pastoral communities.
Huye Mountain Coffee tour experience trail
When I visited the recent Made-in-Rwanda expo at Gikondo Show Grounds in Kicukiro, Huye Mountain Coffee was one of the exhibitors. A closer look at the brochures from the attendants at the stall indicated that the firm was more than just a coffee processor. I learnt from the brochures that they had recently introduced a new product targeting coffee lovers and buyers – the 'coffee tour experience'. This was intriguing… so I was curious to go check it out.
About 10 days later, I hit the trail in company of other 10 visitors from the US. Our guide for the day was Aloys, or Mr Coffee, as he is fondly called, who took us through the trail on paper at the reception centre at Gako trading centre, explaining the various 12 stages of the coffee tour in preparation for the hike. After the briefing we boarded our vehicles for a two-kilometre ride on a rather bumpy and steep gravel road to the starting point. The trail begins at about 1,689 metres above sea level, with an introduction about coffee planting and the initial growing stages of the crop.
We went through other stages, and I learnt that the coffee tree life cycle is over 50 years. We also learnt of some of the enemies of coffee, like the berry bola disease, leaf rust disease, coffee bug that gives unpleasant potato taste. Mr Coffee says the firm mostly uses organic means to fight these enemies, including tobacco and pyrethrum organic pesticides. The harvesting stage comes next (during my visit it was off-season) that prepares visitors for the exciting coffee roasting (using Rwandan traditional means) at 1,870 metres above sea level. This is done under an acacia tree that provides much-needed shade (on day hot day like when I visited). It's here that we introduced to the coffee roasting process using the Rwandan traditional technology.
One gets that sense of satisfaction roasting green coffee beans to a rich dark brown (colour) that makes for aromatic coffee distinct to Rwanda. And the aroma… Nothing beats the aroma of freshly roasted Rwanda coffee!
'Tour of Rwandan culture and history'
The icing on the hike is when visitors embark on the second segment of the trail, which marks the 'tour of Rwanda culture and history' as visitors explore the breathe-taking Nyirankoko rock, just about a 100 metres from the coffee plantation.
Mr Coffee takes you through the history of Rwanda particularly during the era of the kingdom and inter-kingdom conflicts. He tells us that the hill's name originate from an incident in 1348 following a confrontation with the then Burundi kingdom army. The name was given to Nyirarutenge by king Kigele I for her heroic acts in helping them defeat the Burundian army, according to legend.
Nyirarutenge was buried at the foot of the rock after she was killed by the Burundi kingdom soldiers. The rock and hill were to later be renamed Nyirankoko by the king in honour of Nyirarutenge.
"From then onwards, all Rwanda kings would hold planning meetings with their military advisors at the rock before any military operations with neighbouring kingdoms and communities to ensure victory," Mr Coffee concludes the legend.
He notes that the rock, shaped like a meeting place at the top, is complete with a chairman's chair, and 'stairs' leading up from the bottom of the rock's upper side. Standing on top of the rock, one can see all the surrounding villages, terraced hill bellies, meandering roads and pathways in the lower valley and shinny tin roofed houses of communities surrounding the 'holy' mountain.
The final lap of the hike leads you to the hilltop. When here, you cannot ask more; this is the highest peak at 1,986 metres above sea level, but it's almost flat. It hosts the 'coffee tour experience' trail monument and gardens, complete with tents and chairs. Those too tired can grab much-needed rest, relax, and stretch their aching muscles and bones.
Atop Nyirankoko mountain, one is able to see all the surrounding communities, Huye Mountain on the eastern side, Huye town, Nyanza town, Rugwogwe, Mount Simbi, as well as Sovu town and Gako trading centre.
The monument that tells of the history of the enterprise; the pedestal that has a pot and a coffee tree growing therein, also documents the humble beginnings of the leading coffee washing station in Huye District, from the time they were using wooden 'bicycles' to ferry red coffee cherries to their small washing station way back in the late 2000s.
The enterprise now operates a fully-automated washing station at the foothill. Mr Coffee says the coffee tree in the pot signifies the firm's resolve to promote coffee drinking among Rwandans as part of the local culture.
He argues that since the country grows the beans, Rwandans should partake of the beverage as part of the daily menu besides earning foreign exchange from the beans. Mr Coffee believes the 'coffee tour experience' will greatly impact the competitiveness of Rwanda's coffee, noting that most visitors write blogs about the hike when they return to their home countries.
"This is a plus for Rwandan coffee and for us; we are currently expanding potential and giving opportunity for others to join the sector," adds David Rubanzangabo, the brain behind the venture and the Huye Mountain Coffee chief executive.
He told me later, that the 'coffee tour experience' was introduced partly to demystify the coffee production value chain because many coffee lovers, including Rwandans, don't know much about the beverage, especially how it is made.
He adds that though the firm opened shop around 2011, "it was like something was always missing to make the enterprise more beneficial." Rubanzangabo says the tour is also strategic marketing, noting that visitors who participate in the hike "will always remember Rwanda's unique coffee and recommend it to others".
"It (tour) is a big marketing tool for us… the agriculture-tourism mix helps hit multiple birds with one stone – we teach visitors about our coffee and its importance to Rwanda's economy, they get to understand why it's costly on shelves in their home countries, and we also showcase Huye and Rwanda tourism attractions to the outside world," he explains. He argues that creating a synergy between the two sectors benefits every stakeholder, and gives more value to visitors and local products (tourist attractions and coffee).
Tourists narrate experience
Randall Diericks US citizen resident in Kigali, says the coffee tour opened his eyes to the realities about coffee farming, noting that he now understands 'where my coffee comes from'.
He says the hike of the Nyirankoko hilltop after initial coffee processing tour gives a rich historical perspective of Rwanda, and adds value to trail, enriching the visitors' experience. He says the Nyirankoko rock atop the hill is like that in the legendary "Lion King" kids' cartoons. Przemek Praszcalek from the US, says it was fun learning about coffee and hiking. He says the traditional coffee roasting at the third stop on the hike was insightful, and the "roasted beans were aromatic and delicious".
Advisory
The hike will take you under three hours, especially as Mr Coffee puts his charm to use explaining the making of Rwandan coffee, detailing all the processes from the garden to the cup. After hiking, tourists are taken through the coffee pulping process at the plant's modern coffee washing station downhill.
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