Big Earth showcases honey products at Africa Food Systems Forum

By Elias HAKIZIMANA.

Rwandan agribusiness company Big Earth Limited showcased its honey and beekeeping products at the Africa Food Systems Forum 2026 in Kigali, highlighting the potential of beekeeping to create livelihoods for young people, women and refugees.

The company, founded by Jean de Dieu Kwizera, exhibited its Umurame honey brand and other honey-based products as thousands of agriculture and food-system stakeholders gathered in Kigali for the Africa Food Systems Forum.

Kwizera said the forum provided an opportunity to connect with potential partners and buyers as he works to move Umurame into international markets.

“I have made a lot of networks. We have international networks. That’s how the export market starts,” he said.

Big Earth Limited operates across the beekeeping value chain, from training and supporting beekeepers to honey production and value addition. The company also provides agricultural services to horticulture farmers involved in crops including avocado, passion fruit and macadamia.

Kwizera started the business during the COVID-19 pandemic after a period of unemployment and financial hardship. At the time, he said he could not afford to buy honey and began imagining himself producing and selling his own brand.

Although he had no previous experience in beekeeping, he turned to books and online resources to learn the trade.

He later began offering beekeeping training, using the proceeds to acquire his first five beehives and establish the foundation of his business.

The company has since expanded its work beyond its own production. Through grant-supported programmes, Big Earth distributes beehives and beekeeping equipment to youth, women and refugees at no cost, while purchasing the honey they produce.

Kwizera estimates that about 5,700 people have been directly reached through these programmes.

The model is designed to give beneficiaries both production assets and access to a market, while helping expand Rwanda’s honey value chain.

Big Earth also trains beneficiaries, particularly refugees, to make honey-based products such as body oils that can be sold to generate additional income.

One of the challenges facing beekeepers, however, is the use of agricultural pesticides, which can harm bees and reduce honey production.

Kwizera said the company trains farmers on natural pest-control methods and safer pesticide-use practices to reduce the risks to bees.

He sees the Africa Food Systems Forum as an important platform for taking the business to its next stage.

While Umurame has not yet entered export markets, Kwizera said he is pursuing additional certifications and standards required to access international buyers.

“Certifications are an investment,” he said, adding that his current focus is on preparing the business for export.

The forum has therefore given Big Earth an opportunity not only to display its products but also to build relationships that could help connect Rwandan honey to wider markets.

For Kwizera, the journey from financial hardship to building a honey business is also a message to other young people and women: identify a dream, develop the skills needed to pursue it and turn it into a product that can create opportunities for others.

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