SOUK Farms stands as one of the most outstanding beneficiaries of the CEHA Matching grants, dedicated to growing and exporting high-quality horticultural products from Rwanda’s rich and fertile soils. Established as a key player in the agricultural industry, Souk Farms provides premium fruits and vegetables to customers across Europe, the Middle East, and the local Rwandan market. It actively engages with over 1,200 smallholder farmers, providing them with essential inputs, training and business linkages to help improve productivity and market access.
SOUK Farms participated in the COMESA -EU-Connect held in October 2025, a practical initiative championed and supported by the COMESA and the European Union through the EDF 11 Institutional Capacity Building Programme and the COMESA Horticulture Accelerator (CEHA).
The COMESA -EU-Connect provided a platform to advance strategic engagement, build partnerships, and create market linkages between the COMESA region and the European Union towards unlocking new opportunities for trade, investment, and partnerships.
Four months on, SOUK Farms Executive Director, Oluwaseun Rasheed shares a transformative success story that has directly emerged from the COMESA-EU Connect.
Rasheed highlights that the most impactful outcome was the initiation of a cross-border production partnership with Fruit and Beyond, a fast-growing horticultural company based in Tanzania. Through introductions and discussions held during the event, SOUK and Fruit and Beyond identified strong alignment in production capabilities, quality standards, and access to European export markets. This has since translated into commercial production of sugar snaps, snow peas, and extra fine beans for export to Europe, leveraging complementary agro climatic zones and shared technical expertise. This partnership represents a meaningful step toward strengthening regional value chains and expanding COMESA based horticultural exports into high value European markets.
“Participation in the COMESA EU Connect created a valuable platform for SOUK Farms to engage with regional and international partners in a way that would not have been possible through our existing networks’’ He stated.
For SOUK Farm, the COMESA EU Connect also facilitated a strategic engagement with Technimex, a provider of smart irrigation solutions. Following initial meetings at the summit, discussions have progressed significantly, and SOUK Farms is now in advanced talks with Technimex regarding the installation of a modern irrigation system across 50 hectares of SOUK farm operations in Gatsibo District in Rwanda. This proposed investment will play a critical role in improving water efficiency, climate resilience, and yield stability, directly supporting SOUK’s long-term sustainability and export growth objectives. This engagement would not have been initiated without the targeted networking and exposure provided through the COMESA EU Connect platform.
These outcomes demonstrate the practical value of the COMESA EU Connect in translating dialogue into actionable partnerships, investment discussions, and tangible commercial opportunities. For SOUK Farms, the initiative has directly contributed to regional collaboration, technology adoption, and export-oriented growth, all of which align strongly with the broader COMESA horticulture and trade agenda.