Having worked in coffee for over 18 years, Laetitia Mukandahiro and Uzziel Habimana founded the company in 2019. Their motivation was to combine their extensive coffee experience with their motivation to make a difference in the Rwandan coffee sector. In fact, they have been part of teams who have significantly contributed to the Rwandan specialty coffee sector. One of these projects was the Partnership for Enhancing Agriculture in Rwanda through Linkages (PEARL) project in the early 2000s. The project was developed and implemented by Rwanda and USA based universities and public institutions. It is widely accepted that the project transformed the coffee sector by organizing 9 washing stations to have better market access along with training their members in coffee cultivation, quality control, and coffee trade.

Ikawa House continues this tradition of further engaging with growers to help them gain different valuable skill sets. They have developed their own curriculum and certification program on coffee cultivation, processing, and sensory analysis. The training and QC center in Kigali serves and trains partner farmers which, in return, strengthens their economic resilience and improves their product’s quality. Laetitia says “Ikawa House selects their partner coffee washing stations based on their commitment to fair business practices, quality consistency, history, and infrastructure.” Currently, they work with 12 washing stations from all parts of Rwanda and their happiness is to see young women and men in charge of coffee business thought the world.