Refugee entrepreneurs around the world show a commitment to growth, even in the harshest of conditions. This determination is what sets them apart. Renilde’s story exemplifies this perfectly.
When political violence forced Renilde to leave her home country of Burundi in 2018, she wasn’t sure what her new life in the Mehama refugee camp in Rwanda would look like. All she knew was that she needed to get her family to safety, even if that meant leaving her thriving agricultural business behind.
One year later, Renilde reunited with her husband, carved a fresh path for herself in Rwanda, and rebuilt a safe, stable life for her five children. But she hasn’t stopped there.
Starting with almost nothing, she grew something new
Renilde was able to use her knowledge of agriculture to give the community around her access to things they’d lost as refugees.
Starting with almost nothing, she worked hard and started a small grocery store, which has become profitable over the years. Now, she employs several fellow refugees, and has made enough to support her whole family in Rwanda. She has also built up her community in other ways, like helping people access health care.
Helping her community with healthcare is no small feat. Refugees are disproportionately more likely to contract infectious diseases, and primary care can be difficult to come by.
Since 2019, Rwanda has provided healthcare benefits to all refugees, but Renilde has gone out of her way to help her community navigate the complexities of enrollment.
“When I harvest, the neighbors also find something to eat. And jobs, too,” says Renilde with a smile.
Thanks to Renilde and the success of her business, the community feels a little more like home. Her vision and foresight have not only helped her own family grow, but they also continue to provide much-needed stability to the camp.
The crisis in Burundi, and a life-saving choice
Renilde and her family weren’t the only ones forced to flee Burundi due to instability. 400,000 refugees have been forced to flee Burundi since 2015. Many of them find themselves on the eastern border of nearby Rwanda, at the country’s largest refugee camp. Mehama Refugee Camp was created specifically for Burundian refugees, and it has only grown in the last decade. Renilde knew that staying in her home country was no longer an option. “As I saw threats to my children and myself, I made the decision to leave the country,” she says. “I came with my children. My husband was already here. He came here after being imprisoned.” Like many refugees, Renilde was surprised by how different her life in Rwanda immediately became. She has always been a hard worker, and she knows how to assess her community’s needs and build a business to meet those needs, while supporting herself. When she arrived at the Mehama refugee camp in Rwanda, she was relieved but also frustrated by her inability to do much beyond waiting for further instructions. “At first, it was the poverty [that surprised me]. In my country, I had a job, but here, when I came, all I did was sit and sleep,” says Renilde. Soon, fueled by her own drive and the need to care for her children, Renilde made a plan. “I decided to start my agricultural business to meet my household needs,” she says. “I have children who need to live and study.” Soon enough, the business she started not only supported her own children but also provided work and important services for her wider community, too.
Refugees like Renilde face compounded challenges
As an agronomist, a scientist who specializes in soil management and crop production, Renilde had always understood what made for good, sustainable farming. When she got to Mehama, she saw an opportunity to start growing food, both for sustenance and to sell. “As a refugee, I had to work in agricultural activities to make a living,” she says. “Since I had some knowledge of the agricultural business, and since the population here needs food, I figured it was a good idea to engage in farming.” Though refugees tend to be more likely to pursue entrepreneurship, the challenges they face are part of what drives them to start their own businesses. Because refugees like Renilde do not have documentation in their new country, even if they find work, it can be tricky to actually start working, because they lack the papers that would legally allow an employer to hire them. While starting their own businesses is usually the most accessible path for refugees, they typically have to start over with nothing, which means they need investment capital. But in order to access traditional funding, they need a credit history or collateral, something most refugees don’t have. To traditional lenders, it doesn’t matter that the data shows that refugees pay back their loans at the same rate (96%) as non-refugee borrowers — if refugees don’t have something to prove their creditworthiness, they’re ineligible for loans. That’s why, when Renilde learned about Kiva Lending Partner Inkomoko and its mission to provide inclusive finance and personalized business support to forcibly displaced individuals like herself. She reached out to them. “It is thanks to the loan from Inkomoko that I was able to organize my life. With the money, I was able to fund my shop,” she says. “Inkomoko is on my side.”
Growth and promise, where there once was nothing
Today, Renilde lives a life of purpose. She gets up every morning and goes to run the shop, or helps in the fields, if that’s what’s needed for the day. Her children go to school. Through her own determination and know-how, she’s built a life for herself. She lives off a modest monthly income, but it’s consistent.
But it’s also important to Renilde that the rest of her community is taken care of, too. From her personal savings, she has helped 20 refugees in the camp access healthcare. She also helps provide jobs for six other refugees.
Looking ahead
Renilde has big plans to expand her operations. “What I plan for the future, despite the constraints I see before me, is to increase the cultivable area,” she says. Most of all, Renilde knows how hard it has been to achieve what she has, and she wears her accomplishments with pride.
“I am proud today because I have my own job,” she says. “I am proud, and courageous, too.” Be part of an important lifeline for a Kiva borrower like Renilde today, and help other refugee entrepreneurs access funding to help themselves and their communities thrive.
