In 2019, Jean Desire Habiyambere set up a firm called ‘MoFresh’, hoping to address the problem of postharvest losses. The company is using an off-grid cold storage system to solve the problem of post-harvest loss from farmers to final consumers.
“We were able to identify that we needed some knowledge and technology in manufacturing cold rooms that we don’t have in Rwanda,” said Habiyambere. What is tested is an off-grid cold-store solution that helps farmers and retailers reduce waste as well as sell when prices are good. Usually, during times of harvest prices fall and recover later in the season.
Habiyambere: “The majority of our clients are farmers and retailers. The retailers are in Kigali while farmers are in rural and urban areas. Our clients work with temperature-sensitive goods, such as horticulture growers and retailers. We also serve meat sellers, both retailers and wholesalers, and a few importers.”
MoFresh offers three different solutions – MoFresh Hub: off-grid cold storage; MoFresh Box: a portable off-grid cold box, in other words, an insulated box with cooling materials, and the MoFresh App.
Source: newtimes.co.rw