(St. Louis Business Journal) The emerging economic partnership between St. Louis and Rwanda | Opinion

St. Louis has found a promising new international partner for innovation-driven economic growth in a place that might have seemed highly unlikely just a year ago: the African country of Rwanda.

The economic case for connecting St. Louis to Africa is compelling, even if not top of mind for many. According to The Economist, Africa’s economic rise is poised to reshape global trade and investment dynamics. Rwanda’s strategic vision and its remarkable economic progress position it as a leader in this shift. The country boasts sustained gross domestic product growth, a young and expanding workforce, and significant improvements in education and technology adoption.

In March 2024, a group of St. Louis leaders welcomed the CEO of the Rwanda Development Board, the Honorable Francis Gatare, to St. Louis. As they showcased the region’s strengths in agricultural innovation and health care, the group was amazed by the numerous existing relationships with Rwandan partners. In one morning alone, three St. Louis-based institutions — Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Bayer Crop Science and Gates AgOne — each shared significant projects in Rwanda that reinforce St. Louis’ global leadership in agritech and food security.

In just one impactful example, hundreds of thousands of Rwanda’s farm households will soon grow disease-resistant cassava, a crucial subsistence crop and staple food, thanks to a Danforth Center-led project working with Rwanda since 2019.

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