Digital records are helping farmers gain the confidence of banks, access loans faster, and strengthen agricultural cooperatives across Rwanda
For years, tea farmer Nambajimana Simon in Nyamasheke District worked hard in his tea plantation but faced a challenge common to many smallholder farmers across Rwanda: proving his production history to financial institutions.
Like many farmers, Simon relied on paper records managed by his cooperative. Production information could be lost, payments were difficult to verify, and accessing financial services often required lengthy procedures and repeated visits to banks.
Today, things are different.
Through COPA, a digital cooperative management platform developed by EXTRA TECHNOLOGY LTD, farmers can now access verified production records, receive payments digitally, track savings and insurance contributions, and use their production history to qualify for loans.
The innovation is transforming agricultural cooperatives from paper-based operations into transparent digital systems that banks and other financial institutions can trust.
From Missing Records to Verified Data
Before the introduction of COPA, many cooperatives depended entirely on handwritten records.
Farmers delivered produce, weights were recorded on paper, and payment calculations were often processed manually.
According to Simon, although had been growing tea since 2000, access to credit remained difficult. Production records were kept on paper, information could easily be misplaced, and farmers often spent hours trying to find documents whenever they needed to verify their harvests or payments.
“Before COPA, we relied on paper records to track our production. Sometimes documents disappeared, and when you wanted to verify your harvest records, you could spend days looking for information and still fail to find it,” he said.
The situation created frustration among farmers and limited their ability to demonstrate reliable income.
Accessing loans was particularly difficult because financial institutions had limited data to assess farmers’ production capacity.
Turning Production Records into Financial Trust
COPA addresses this challenge by capturing production data digitally at the collection point.
Farmers deliver their produce to collection centers where digital weighing scales connected directly to the COPA platform automatically record weights and upload information into the system.
Once recorded, the information becomes available to farmers, cooperative managers, and authorized financial institutions.
For banks, this creates something that was often missing in agricultural finance: trusted and verified data.
Muhiza Frank, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of EXTRA TECHNOLOGY LTD, says reliable information is the foundation of financial inclusion.
“One of the biggest barriers to agricultural lending has always been the lack of trusted records. Banks need reliable information before they can provide credit. COPA creates that trust by recording and validating production data in real time,” he explained.
The system allows financial institutions to see a farmer’s production history, earnings, and repayment capacity before approving loans.
As a result, farmers can apply for credit without carrying piles of documents or spending days proving their production performance.
“Today, banks can see our records and know our production, we can request loans much more easily because the information is already available in the system.”Simon said.
Faster Payments and Better Accountability
The platform has also changed how farmers receive payments.
Previously, many farmers spent hours waiting in queues to collect cash payments. Today, payments are processed digitally, reducing delays and making it easier for farmers to monitor their earnings.
“Before, we had to wait in long lines to receive our money, now the information reaches us directly, and we can see our production and payments on our phones.” Simon recalled.
The system also helps farmers track deductions for services such as agricultural inputs, community-based health insurance (Mutuelle de Santé), and Ejo Heza retirement savings contributions.
Every transaction is recorded and communicated through mobile phones, allowing farmers to clearly see where their money goes and helping ensure greater accountability in the management of their finances.
A Solution Built for Cooperatives
Founded by young Rwandan entrepreneur Muhiza Frank, EXTRA TECHNOLOGY LTD focuses on digitizing Rwanda’s informal sector, particularly agricultural cooperatives.
The COPA platform integrates member registration, production tracking, payroll management, financial reporting, communication tools, loan management, and digital weighing technology into one system.
The technology is currently being used in several agricultural value chains, including tea, coffee, rice, potatoes, livestock, fisheries, and transport cooperatives.
One of the cooperatives already benefiting from the system is Cooperative the Villageois Gisakura (COOPTHEVIGI), a tea cooperative in Nyamasheke District.
Musabyimana Theobald, who works with the cooperative and uses the system daily during tea collection, says the difference is significant.
“Before COPA, weighing and recording were done manually. Errors could happen and information could be lost. Today, once a farmer’s tea is weighed, the information immediately reaches the cooperative. The process is faster, more accurate, and much easier,” he said.
Tea farmer Nyirahabineza Francine agrees.
“Before COPA, everything was recorded on paper and disagreements sometimes happened because records could be changed or lost. Today everything is in the system. Farmers know exactly what they delivered and what they should receive,” she said.
Backed by National Agricultural Innovation Efforts
The development and expansion of COPA received support from the Commercialization and De-Risking for Agricultural Transformation (CDAT) Project through its Innovation Challenge Fund (ICF). The initiative, implemented by the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB) in partnership with the Ministry of ICT and Innovation through the Hanga Pitch Fest programme, aims to accelerate the use of technology across Rwanda’s agri-food sector
According to officials from the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB), the Innovation Challenge Fund was created to encourage young innovators to develop technology-based solutions that address challenges facing Rwanda’s agricultural sector.
Mugambira Bonfils Roger, who oversees value chain development and access-to-finance activities under CDAT, says the initiative was designed to strengthen agricultural productivity, market access, and financial inclusion through innovation.
“Our objective was to support solutions that help farmers increase productivity, connect to markets, and access financial services through technology,” he said.
According to Janvier Ahimanishyize, a technology advisor involved in agricultural projects at RAB, digital platforms like COPA are helping transform the relationship between farmers and financial institutions.
“When farmers have reliable digital records, they become more visible to markets and financial institutions. Technology is helping bridge that gap and making services more accessible,” he said.
Building the Future of Agricultural Finance
Beyond improving efficiency, COPA is addressing a challenge that has long affected agricultural development: trust.
By reducing opportunities for manipulation, eliminating many manual errors, and providing transparent access to information, the platform is strengthening confidence between farmers, cooperatives, banks, processors, and development partners.
For farmers like Simon, that trust has real value.
“What we need now is continued support so farmers can access more affordable loans and invest in their farms, when banks trust our records, it becomes easier for us to grow.”he said.
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