Established in 2014, BDO East Africa in Rwanda is the country office of a leading firm of advisors to the public sector, government, financial institutions, and donor agencies. BDO East Africa is a centrally-managed network of offices across Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, with 12 partners and more than 350 professional staff, and is a Member Firm of BDO International. BDO East Africa (Rwanda) has been providing various tax advisory and business accounting services to a range of SMEs in Rwanda but had little experience in supporting agribusinesses, or agri-SMEs in the agricultural sector that have specific needs. However, through CASA support it is well placed to demonstrate how a local provider of business development services (BDS) can work with agri-SMEs in perceived risky sectors to access financing and investment.

Contact: www.bdo-ea.com

Enhancing Financial and Investment Readiness to Empower SMEs to Access Commercial Loans and External Capital for Investment

Through this 12-month project (May 2024 – June 2025), BDO has provided business development, accounting and financial management services to three CASA partner agri-SMEs (B5CD, Fine Fish and Platinum Agribusiness) to become investment ready and to access financing. Through this partnership, CASA has worked with BDO to identify the agri-SMEs seeking commercial investment from within the pipeline of CASA partners and to assess the relevant skills gaps among them. CASA has further supported this assessment through routine due diligence conducted together with the respective businesses as a part of their individual partnership agreements and any referenced technical assistance within the partner’s defined project activities and budget. The total project budget was £105,400, of which the £48,750 CASA contribution covered technical assistance to BDO in identification and selection of the agri-SMEs, capacity assessment and preparation, strategic alignment and enhancement, investor engagement and due diligence, deal negotiation and closing. This support has resulted in BDO East Africa (Rwanda) having a better understanding of the agricultural sector, enhanced capacity to deliver investment readiness services to agri-SMEs and strengthened internal systems. This has positioned BDO to expand its service offerings in the agriculture sector, foster long-term partnerships with agri-SMEs, and contribute to broader Rwandan development goals of increasing smallholder agriculture commercialisation.

BDO East Africa (Rwanda) is still seeking additional investment on behalf of supported agri-SMEs to address their business growth needs.

Updated: March 2026