Dennis Overton
Employee Impact Award
An encounter with a Rwandan fleeing
the genocide in his country began the unlikely
business partnership of a Scottish seafood business
with a Rwandan farming community. Dennis
Overton’s business, Aquascot, revolves around the
farming of fish in the North Atlantic and salmon
processing in the Highlands of Scotland. Nicholas
Hitimana was studying a doctorate in agriculture
at Edinburgh University and had knowledge of
Rwandan oil plant production. The two befriended
each other and compared thoughts on their
respective agricultural worlds.
Overton at once saw some potential and
realized that the farming of fish and the farming
of plant oils were not that different. “Farming at
sea or on land requires the same management and
skills,” says Overton. Ikirezi Natural Products was
established as a community-interest company in
Rwanda in 2005 and specializes in the growing of
oil-bearing plants such as geranium, lemongrass
and eucalyptus, all of which have good selling
potential on the international market.
The aim of Ikirezi is to become a leading
supplier of essential oils and to maximize profits
to the small farmers involved in the growing,
leading to a transformation of these largely
cashless communities. The company mobilizes and
trains farmers, mainly widows and orphans, and
then buys the harvested material to produce and
market the oil. Through four farming associations
and cooperatives, over 500 farmers are involved.
“We’re into year four now and almost at net
profitability,” says Overton. “Not bad when you
consider that we’re doing this in an emer