The Rwanda Cooperative Agency (RCA) has urged cooperatives to become more self-reliant by making better use of their own resources instead of continually depending on government support.
RCA Director General Francis Kamanzi made the call on September 25, 2026, during celebrations to mark International Day of Cooperatives.
Kamanzi said cooperatives that have grown to the point of investing in major projects, including building factories, should also be able to finance some of the inputs and equipment they need to run their businesses.
“When a cooperative has reached the level of building its own factory, it should not still be asking for support to buy fertiliser,” he said.
He said RCA would continue helping cooperatives strengthen their financial management skills and institutional capacity, while encouraging them to make better use of their own assets and build the ability to sustain their operations.
The push for greater self-reliance comes as RCA reviews cooperatives that are no longer operational to determine whether some can be revived.
Kamanzi said Rwanda had more than 11,000 registered cooperatives in 2023, but an assessment found that nearly 3,900 were no longer operating.
RCA plans to reassess the inactive cooperatives to identify those with the potential to resume operations and support them in rebuilding their activities and delivering greater benefits to their members.
Kamanzi noted that some cooperatives become inactive because their businesses are seasonal, particularly agricultural cooperatives that are most active during harvest periods and reduce or suspend operations afterward.
Poor management of income generated during the harvest season can also leave some cooperatives without enough resources to resume activities in the following season, he said.
“A cooperative may sell its produce and, once the season ends, simply sit and wait. When a cooperative is inactive, the money it has accumulated may be taken by its leaders, leaving it with limited capacity to resume operations,” Kamanzi said.
Cooperatives seek more support on taxes
Cooperative leaders also called for more support to help them understand tax registration, declaration and payment requirements.
Mediatrice Nyirabahinyuza, president of the national cooperative federation, said some cooperative leaders still lack a clear understanding of their tax obligations.
She called on tax authorities to work more closely with cooperatives, helping them understand their obligations and comply with the law rather than mainly approaching them when enforcement action is required for non-compliance.
Nyirabahinyuza said some cooperatives had been forced to suspend their activities because of tax-related challenges.
Minister of Trade and Industry Antoine Kajangwe said the government would work with RCA to address the challenges facing cooperatives and help them deliver greater value to their members.
RCA currently estimates that Rwanda has about 7,000 legally registered cooperatives with around 6.5 million members. They include primary cooperatives, unions of primary cooperatives, federations and the National Cooperatives Confederation.
