After a hiatus of one year, SIGEP has come back to promote the most important brands in the sectors of coffee, pastry, bakery and ice cream. This event has offered an opportunity for Rwandan Specialty Coffee Producers to promote their brands and establish new trade connections with International buyers, thanks to the financing of the EU and through the coordination of ICU.
From crop to cup, the entire production chain of coffee has been on show at SIGEP Expo, an exhibition which is designed for International coffee industry professionals. The event has witnessed the presence of traders, coffee producers, roasters, coffee shop owners and companies producing equipment and machines for the coffee sector, as well as the Italian Barista Championship and a series of panels concerning the state of the art of the coffee sector worldwide.
This year ICU offered an opportunity to Rwanda coffee producers (Nova Coffee, COOCAMU Cooperative and Mubuga Coffee) to attend and participate in SIGEP From 12-16 March 2022, to help them to seize businesses opportunities for their products and gain familiarity with international buyers and commercial negotiations.
We are very excited that high quality coffees of Rwandan producers have been appreciated during the cupping session that we had in our stand; during which we tasted Fully-Washed, Honey process, Naturals and Anaerobic coffees. Many samples of green coffee have been distributed among clients and we realized that the quality of Rwandan coffee is highly competitive. Clients have also shown their interest in visiting farmers and producers in Rwanda and possibly to source directly from them.
For these reasons, ICU will soon organise buyer visits to Rwanda inviting possible commercial partners for the Coffee Washing Stations benefitting from the EU-funded project ‘A market driven approach for value chain improvements and the expansion of the Rwandan coffee market’ that ICU is currently coordinating.
As ICU we are already working to organise the participation in World Of Coffee, one of the most important event in the coffee sector, this year taking place in Warsaw in June. This will represent another opportunity for us to continue promoting Rwandan coffee and its Second Sunrise brand worldwide, in an effort to develop the Rwandan coffee value chain and increase its international exposure.
