National Agricultural Export Development Board

What National Agricultural Export Development Board does

NAEB (National Agricultural Export Development Board) is a statutory agency of the Government of Rwanda, legally established by Law No. 13-2017 of 14/04/2017 and operating under the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI). Headquartered in Kigali on MAGERWA Street / KK 6 AV, the agency is responsible for developing, regulating, and promoting Rwanda's agricultural export sector across three core commodity categories: Rwanda Coffee (specialty Arabica), Rwanda Tea, and Rwanda Fresh (horticulture including fruits, vegetables, and cut flowers). Its mandate spans the full export value chain from smallholder farmer support and seedling production through post-harvest processing to international market development.

NAEB's technology base combines agricultural biotechnology, post-harvest infrastructure, and digital platforms. It operates a Flower Tissue Culture Laboratory at its headquarters (established with JICA in January 2024 for gentian seedling production), National and Local Postharvest Centers (40 tons/day chili drying capacity at the NPC and 9.6 tons/day at LPCs, plus 34.5 tons/day onion curing), and a cold-chain fleet of nine refrigerated trucks co-funded with USAID. Digital infrastructure includes the Smart Kungahara System, Online Export Services (oes.naeb.gov.rw), and the NAEB Geo-Portal (gis.naeb.gov.rw). Tea is sold through a national auction system with weekly price reporting; fresh produce is shipped via RwandAir, KLM, and Ethiopian Airlines.

NAEB's business model is that of a government export-promotion body rather than a commercial enterprise. It is funded through Rwandan government appropriations and multi-donor project co-funding — including IFAD (PSAC Project), JICA (CUP Rwanda, tissue culture lab), KOICA (Smart Food Value Chain Management Project), the European Union via ITC/GIZ/UNIDO (MARK-UP Programme), USAID (Kungahara Wagura Amasoko), and ENABEL (Kwihaza Project). It does not directly sell commodities but coordinates value chains serving approximately 50,000+ tea farmers across 23 cooperatives, 56,695 PSAC-targeted households, and a portfolio of coffee, tea, horticulture, honey, and processed-food exporters (Rwanda Mountain Tea, Silverback Tea, Pedro's Coffee, Igire Coffee, Avocare, Boukhi Honey, Almond Green Farm, BAHAGE Foods). Market access is driven through international trade fair participation (Gulfood, Fruit Logistica, World of Coffee, SIA), bilateral trade missions, and channel partnerships including Grandiose in UAE (47 outlets). Leadership is headed by CEO Claude Bizimana and COO Sandrine Urujeni.

Name

National Agricultural Export Development Board

Legal name

National Agricultural Export Development Board

Website

https://naeb.gov.rw

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

NAEB is Rwanda's statutory government agency responsible for developing, regulating, and promoting the country's coffee, tea, and horticultural exports, serving smallholder farmers, cooperatives, and exporters through donor-funded development projects, post-harvest infrastructure, and international trade facilitation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Export Development & Promotion

NAICS

Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (311920), Farm Product Raw Material Merchant Wholesalers (4245), Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Merchant Wholesalers (42448)

SIC

Wholesale-Farm Product Raw Materials (5150), Beverages (2080), Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainable Agriculture, Food Systems & Land Management (BPADALAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Coffee, Tea & Cocoa Trading/Wholesale (AFAIAKAD), Supply Chain Sustainability & Responsible Sourcing (SMETA, supplier ESG) (EUAHAJAE), Fair Trade & Ethical Supply Chains (Certification, Traceability, Producer Support) (BPAGALAL)

Keywords

• Agricultural export promotion
• Coffee export development
• Tea export development
• Horticulture export services
• Smallholder farmer support

Headquarters

HQ city

Kigali

HQ country

Rwanda

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Agricultural Export Promotion Services: NAEB is a government agency that promotes Rwanda's agricultural exports. The organization generates revenue through export levies and regulatory fees on agricultural commodities including coffee, tea, and horticulture products. As a statutory body, NAEB's primary function is to develop and promote the agri-export sector rather than generate direct revenue.
2. Project Implementation Services: NAEB implements donor-funded development projects including PSAC (co-funded by Government of Rwanda and IFAD), Smart Food Value Chain Management Project (KOICA-funded), and horticulture projects (ENABEL-funded), providing technical assistance and capacity building to farmers and exporters

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

NAEB is a Rwandan government statutory body that develops, regulates, and promotes the country's agricultural exports across three core commodity categories: Rwanda Coffee (specialty Arabica), Rwanda Tea (processed black and green teas), and Rwanda Fresh (horticulture including fruits, vegetables, and cut flowers). The organization supports the full value chain by distributing free seedlings and fertilizers, providing technical training to smallholder farmers, operating post-harvest and cold chain infrastructure, and facilitating international market access through trade fairs, buyer linkages, and development projects co-funded with IFAD, KOICA, JICA, EU, and ENABEL.

Product overview

NAEB operates as a government board managing Rwanda's agricultural export sector with three core product categories: Rwanda Coffee (specialty Arabica coffee), Rwanda Tea (processed tea), and Rwanda Fresh (horticultural products including vegetables, fruits, and flowers). These are supported by multiple development projects including the PSAC Project for smallholder farmer support, MARK-UP for regional market access, CUP Rwanda for coffee value chain strengthening, the Kwihaza project for horticulture cooperatives, and the SFVCM project for post-harvest management. Infrastructure includes a Flower Tissue Culture Laboratory for gentian production. The organization also provides digital services through the Smart Kungahara System, Online Export Services, and NAEB Geo-Portal.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Rwanda Coffee

Quantifiable outcome

• Record $150 million coffee export revenues in 2025
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• High Commission of Rwanda in PakistancoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 29 January 2026NAEB organized the inaugural Rwanda Coffee Festival 2026 in Islamabad in collaboration with Rwanda's High Commission in Pakistan. The two-day event at Mövenpick Hotel showcased Rwanda's specialty coffee and strengthened bilateral trade relations, leveraging Pakistan's position as Rwanda's leading tea buyer.
• Grandiose (Ghassan Aboud Group)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 26 January 2026NAEB CEO held discussions with Grandiose CEO Mr. Mussab Aboud to establish long-term partnership for distributing Rwandan products (coffee, flowers, avocados, fresh produce) through Grandiose's 47 retail outlets across UAE. The partnership aims to deepen bilateral trade ties which reached $1.1 billion in 2023.
• KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 December 2024KOICA funds the Smart Food Value Chain Management (SFVCM) Project implemented by NAEB. The four-year project (2022-2026) focuses on reducing post-harvest losses of chili and onion through processing facilities, strengthening capacity of farmers and officials, and increasing smallholder income. Groundbreaking ceremony held December 2024 for National and Local Postharvest Centers.
• JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 January 2024JICA funded the Flower Tissue Culture Laboratory at NAEB Headquarters as part of the SDGs Business Verification Survey with Private Sector for High-Quality Flower Young Plants Production. The project supports gentian flower production using tissue culture technology and aims to deliver first commercial lot to Europe in 2026.
• GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit)majorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerGIZ implements the MARK-UP Programme in Rwanda, working to enhance export competitiveness for sector SMEs, improve business development capacities, and remove sector trade barriers for coffee and horticulture exports to EU markets.
• ITC (International Trade Centre)majorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerITC implements the MARK-UP Programme, providing export competitiveness enhancement and business development support for SMEs in Rwanda's coffee and horticulture sectors.
• UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerUNIDO is part of the MARK-UP Programme implementation consortium for EAC regional development, contributing to economic growth initiatives.
• ICU (Italian Cooperation)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerICU partners on Rwanda Coffee Value Chain Development project, supporting coffee sector strengthening initiatives.
• CEPAR (Center for Planetary Health and Agriculture Rwanda)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as partner organization supporting NAEB's mission to develop Rwanda's agricultural export sector.
• FERWACOTHE (Federal Wakiso Cooperatives Through Health)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as partner organization supporting NAEB's agricultural export development initiatives.
• TRADEMARK AfricaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as partner organization supporting NAEB's trade and export development programs.
• RwandAircoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational carrier critical for ensuring timely delivery of Rwanda's fresh produce to global markets. Essential partner for horticulture exports particularly for destinations within RwandAir coverage.
• Government of RwandacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNAEB is a statutory body of the Government of Rwanda established under Law No. 13-2017 of 14/04/2017. The government provides institutional support and co-funds development projects including PSAC.

Scale indicators19 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA): Uganda's statutory body for coffee sector regulation, quality control, and export promotion. Direct structural peer as a neighboring East African state agency managing the same commodity (coffee) with similar regulatory, farmer-support, and export-development mandate.
• Colombia's National Federation of Coffee Growers (FNC): Colombia's quasi-governmental coffee growers' federation managing export promotion, farmer support, and Juan Valdez brand globally. Closest international analog as a national coffee export-promotion body that combines regulatory authority with farmer services and premium brand building.
• Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA): Kenya's smallholder tea value-chain management agency, managing 60+ factories and ~600,000 smallholder tea farmers. Comparable as a national tea-focused export-promotion and farmer-support organization in East Africa, operating a similar auction-based go-to-market for premium teas.
• Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council (CeCafé): Brazil's coffee export-trade association representing exporters and providing trade data, market intelligence, and export-promotion services. Direct peer in coffee export facilitation, though private-sector organized rather than a state body.
• Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority: Ethiopia's government authority overseeing coffee and tea value chains, including export licensing, quality standards, and farmer support. Highly comparable mandate, commodity mix, and smallholder-base orientation to NAEB.
• Sri Lanka Tea Board: Sri Lanka's statutory regulator and export promoter for tea, with global brand-building remit (Ceylon Tea). Comparable mandate and auction-based export model, even though it operates at a much larger absolute scale.
• Tanzania Smallholder Tea Development Agency (TSHDA): Tanzania's government agency supporting smallholder tea development and exports. Direct regional peer for the tea-vertical activities, with a similar cooperative-based farmer model and export-development mandate.

Broad incumbents

• Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO): Kenya's broader agricultural R&D and value-chain development body. Comparable state-agency mandate to advance agricultural productivity and farmer competitiveness, though broader in crop scope and not export-trade focused like NAEB.
• Rwanda Development Board (RDB): Rwanda's national investment and export-promotion agency covering all sectors. Sister state agency within the same country with overlapping trade-facilitation and market-linkage functions, though broader in scope than NAEB's agri-export focus.

Others

• International Trade Centre (ITC): UN-joint agency that co-implements MARK-UP alongside NAEB for EU-market export competitiveness. Comparable as an enabler of SME export development in agribusiness, with which NAEB has an active implementation partnership.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/RwandAgriExport
• Facebookfacebook.com/National-Agricultural-Export-Development-Board-100067411221858
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-national-agricultural-export-development-board

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about National Agricultural Export Development Board