CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

Selection of Women- and Youth-Led Coffee Cooperatives for Support to Establish Eco-Friendly Coffee Drying Areas

Promoting Smallholder Agro-Export Competitiveness Project — PSAC
National Agricultural Export Development Board — NAEB

1. Background

The National Agricultural Export Development Board, through the Promoting Smallholder Agro-Export Competitiveness Project, is implementing interventions designed to strengthen Rwanda’s high-value agricultural export value chains, including coffee, tea, and horticulture.

Coffee drying is a critical stage in post-harvest handling and directly affects coffee quality, market value, and producers’ income. Inadequate drying infrastructure can lead to uneven moisture levels, contamination by dust and foreign materials, mould development, physical losses, and undesirable flavors. These problems can prevent coffee producers from meeting specialty and premium-market quality requirements.

Many coffee-sector operators also rely on wooden drying tables that require regular construction, repair, and replacement. Continued dependence on timber-based drying infrastructure contributes to pressure on forest resources and may not provide a sustainable long-term solution.

To address these challenges, NAEB/PSAC intends to support the establishment of two pilot eco-friendly coffee drying areas. The facilities are expected to incorporate improved drying infrastructure, such as ventilated raised drying beds, protective covers, appropriate drainage, and other features determined through technical site assessment and approved designs.

The intervention is intended to improve coffee quality, reduce post-harvest losses, strengthen environmental sustainability, and increase the participation and leadership of women and youth in the coffee value chain.

2. Purpose of the Call

NAEB/PSAC invites eligible women- and youth-led coffee cooperatives to apply for support to establish eco-friendly coffee drying areas.

The purpose of the call is to identify cooperatives that:

1. Have a demonstrated need for improved coffee drying infrastructure;
2. Have suitable and legally available land;
3. Possess adequate technical, governance, and management capacity;
4. Can operate and maintain the proposed infrastructure sustainably;
5. Provide meaningful services to their members;
6. Demonstrate strong participation and leadership of women and youth; and
7. Have the potential to improve coffee quality and access higher-value markets.

Two cooperatives will be selected through a transparent and competitive process comprising administrative screening, technical evaluation, field verification, final ranking, and approval.

3. Scope of the Support

NAEB/PSAC will support the establishment of one eco-friendly coffee drying area for each selected cooperative.

Given the pilot nature of the intervention, the two facilities will be established in two different districts. Therefore, no more than one cooperative will be selected from the same district.

The final size, design, specifications, and implementation arrangements will be determined following a technical assessment of the selected sites.

The support is expected to contribute to:

1. Improved coffee drying efficiency and consistency;
2. Reduced physical and quality-related post-harvest losses;
3. Better protection of coffee against contamination;
4. Improved moisture management and coffee quality;
5. Reduced dependence on conventional wooden drying tables;
6. More environmentally sustainable coffee-processing practices;
7. Strengthened capacity of cooperatives to serve their members; and
8. Improved access to premium and specialty coffee markets.

4. Eligible Districts

The call is open to eligible coffee cooperatives operating in the following PSAC coffee-targeted districts: Huye; Ruhango; Nyamagabe; Rusizi; Nyamasheke; and Karongi.

5. Definition of Women- and Youth-Led Cooperatives

For purposes of this call:

• A women-led cooperative is a cooperative in which women occupy at least 30% of elected leadership or board positions and at least 50% of members are women.
• A youth-led cooperative is a cooperative in which youth aged 18–30 occupy at least 30% of elected leadership or board positions at least 50% of members are youth.

An applicant must meet at least one of the above definitions. 

6. Mandatory Eligibility Requirements

An applicant must meet all the following requirements:

1. Be legally registered with the Rwanda Cooperative Agency;
2. Be a coffee cooperative operating in one of the eligible districts listed in Section 4;
3. Meet the definition of a women-led or youth-led cooperative provided in Section 5;
4. Own and directly operate their coffee washing station (CWS). Cooperatives that have leased out their CWS are not eligible.
5. Have legally available and uncontested land for establishment of the drying area;
6. Commit to undertaking the required site-clearing and levelling works, unless otherwise agreed in writing with NAEB/PSAC;
7. Submit a complete application with all mandatory supporting documents before the deadline.

Applications that fail to meet any mandatory requirement will not proceed to technical evaluation.

7. Technical Evaluation and Scoring

Evaluation category	Maximum points
Demonstrated need and site readiness	20
Technical and commercial capacity	25
Governance and services to members	20
Women and youth inclusion	20
Environmental sustainability, innovation, and community impact	10
Operation and maintenance readiness	5
Total	100

The final decision will depend on field verification, available resources, and formal approval.

8. Required Application Documents

Applicants must submit the following documents:

1. A signed application letter addressed to NAEB;
2. A completed official application form 
3. A valid Rwanda Cooperative Agency registration certificate;
4. A current list of board members and other elected leaders, indicating sex, age, and position;
5. A current list of cooperative members indicating sex, Identification number and age.
6. Evidence of land ownership, leasehold rights, or other legally valid and confirmed land-use rights for the proposed site;
7. A signed declaration confirming that the land is available, accessible, and free from known disputes;
8. A letter committing the cooperative to undertake the required site levelling and preparation works;
9. Evidence of existing markets, such as contracts, sales invoices, buyer letters, export records, or other documented commercial relationships;
10. A summary of services provided to members during the last two years;

NAEB/PSAC may request additional information during evaluation or verification.

9. Submission Procedure

Applications must be submitted through the official online application form titled:

“Application for Selection of Women- and Youth-Led Coffee Cooperatives for Eco-Friendly Coffee Drying Areas.”

All required documents must be uploaded through the application platform in PDF format, except where another format is specifically requested.

Applicants are responsible for ensuring that their applications are complete and successfully submitted before the deadline.

Late applications will not be considered. Incomplete applications may be rejected during administrative screening.

10. Evaluation and Verification Process

10.1 Administrative and Eligibility Screening

Applications will first be reviewed on a pass/fail basis to determine whether:

• The application was submitted on time;
• All mandatory documents were provided;
• The applicant meets the eligibility requirements; and
• The submitted information is sufficiently clear for technical evaluation.

10.2 Technical Evaluation

Applications that pass administrative screening will be assessed using the approved 100-point scoring matrix.

The evaluation committee may request clarification where information is unclear. Clarifications may not be used to introduce material information or documents that should have been included in the original application.

10.3 Shortlisting

Applicants that meet the minimum technical score will be ranked according to their preliminary scores. NAEB/PSAC will determine the number of cooperatives to be shortlisted for field verification.

10.4 Physical Verification

Shortlisted cooperatives will be visited by a verification team comprising NAEB/PSAC representatives and, where appropriate, relevant local authorities or technical specialists.

The verification visit will assess:

1. Accuracy of the information submitted;
2. Land ownership or land-use rights;
3. Site accessibility and suitability;
4. Existing Coffee Washing Station operations, where applicable;
5. Current drying infrastructure and demonstrated need;
6. Production and sales records;
7. Governance and management systems;
8. Services provided to members;
9. Participation of women and youth;
10. Environmental and social risks; and
11. Readiness to operate and maintain the proposed facility.

10.5 Final Scoring and Ranking

Following field verification, the evaluation committee may confirm or adjust preliminary scores based on verified evidence.

Applicants will then be ranked according to their final scores.

In the event of a tie, priority will be given in the following order:

1. The applicant with the highest score for demonstrated need and site readiness;
2. The applicant with the highest score for women and youth inclusion;
3. The applicant with the highest score for operation and maintenance readiness; and
4. The applicant serving the larger number of active smallholder coffee farmers.

10.6 Approval and Notification

All selected applicants will receive written notification and guidance on the next steps. NAEB/PSAC may also notify unsuccessful applicants of the outcome of the process.

NAEB/PSAC reserves the right to:

• Verify any information submitted;
• Contact relevant authorities, buyers, members, or other parties for verification;
• Reject an application containing false, misleading, or materially incomplete information;
• Cancel or amend the call where justified; and
• Decline to make an award where no applicant meets the required technical or fiduciary standards.

11. Responsibilities of Selected Cooperatives

Each selected cooperative will be required to:

1. Provide legally available and accessible land for the drying area;
2. Complete the agreed site-clearing, levelling, and preparation works;
3. Collaborate with NAEB/PSAC during technical assessment, design, construction, inspection, and handover;
4. Facilitate access to the site for contractors, supervisors, evaluators, and monitoring teams;
5. Develop and implement an operation and maintenance plan;
6. Provide adequate security and protection for the infrastructure;
7. Allocate resources for routine maintenance and minor repairs;
8. Keep records of facility use, drying volumes, drying duration, moisture levels, coffee quality, maintenance, and users;
9. Ensure equitable access to the facility for eligible members;
10. Ensure meaningful participation of women and youth in facility management and decision-making;
11. Comply with environmental, social, occupational safety, and technical requirements.
12. Use the facility exclusively for its intended purpose

12. Deadline for Submission

Applications must be submitted via this link: https://www.naeb.gov.rw/publications/upcoming-events/selection-of-women-and-youth-led-coffee-cooperativesno later than 30th August 2026.

13. Clarification and Contact Information

Requests for clarification may be submitted through the following contacts:

Telephone: +250 788 875 828
Email: amani.rukundo@naeb.gov.rw

Done at Kigali, on 19 / 08 / 2026