Written by Patrick Nduwimana | From Reuters Africa

Burundi coffee growers plan to open their own bank to give out the loans they need to invest in improving production, in an industry which accounts for a substantial chunk of the small east African country’s economy.

It will be the first time Burundi coffee growers have joined together to open a micro-bank, Joseph Ntirabampa, chairman of the confederation of coffee producers’ associations, or CNAC, told Reuters.

The coffee industry employs some 800,000 smallholder farmers, almost 10 percent of the population, growing Arabica beans.

Ntirabampa, whose CNAC organisation has 130,000 members, said it had already collected 600 million francs ($389,000), double what the central bank requires to create a micro-financial bank.

“The idea of opening our own bank came due to a serious challenge we face getting loans from local commercial banks,” he said.

Read more at Reuters Africa