Born, bred and educated in Rwanda is Chantal, a young entrepreneur passionate about empowering women and the most vulnerable people in the rural communities of Rwanda. In 2012, she started KIDACO (Kinazi Dairy Cooperative) upon realizing how impactful market access could be to rural community members who live in poverty but have access to a cow through the Girinka program.
The Girinka program started by Paul Kagame, the President of Rwanda, gave women genocide survivors a cow. Chantal noticed that while the program was very beneficial and done in good faith, its’ impact on the lives of the women in her community could be magnified. In 2012, Chantal took action to further help the genocide survivors by increasing their revenue abilities through her cooperative KIDACO.
KIDACO buys milk from collectors, processes and sells them to consumers. The company recently installed a center for milk collection, has received increased media attention, and has purchased more bikes for milk collection. In addition, the cooperative offers basic training for her employees, widening their skill set. So far KIDACO has impacted many farmers in her community and has provided jobs for 10 people who serve as milk collectors. Her program has helped community members who ordinarily would not be able to feed their children, do so and pay their school fees.
Quote: “I started KIDACO to help genocide survivors provide for their children.”
