For companies

Rwanda Business Tours

Come and see Rwanda.

Business study tours to Rwanda, designed for your company.

Rwanda's potential is best understood on the ground: the fast-changing city of Kigali, its companies and institutions, and the people who work there. Our tours let you see today's Rwanda for yourself, beyond what any report can show.

Drawing on more than 35 years of relationships across Japan, the US and Rwanda, we build visits and meetings around your company's goals.

A tailored itineraryMarket research, finding partners or staff development: we choose visits to match.
Introductions through long-standing networksWe arrange meetings with local companies, institutions and key people.
Pre-departure orientationAn introduction to Rwanda's culture, history and business customs before you go.
Follow-up after the tourWe help the connections made on the tour turn into real projects.

Land of a Thousand Hills

The Rwanda you will see on tour

Rwanda is known as the land of a thousand hills: lakes, volcanoes and tea fields as far as the eye can see. Between meetings, you can experience the country's natural beauty too.

Rolling tea plantations — Tea-covered hills

A green volcanic mountain under blue sky — Northern mountains

Aerial view of a lakeside town — Lakeside town on Lake Kivu

Volcanoes rising above clouds — Volcanoes above the clouds

Green highlands with morning mist — Highland morning

A winding road through tea fields — A road through tea fields

Tea field at the edge of a forest — Forest and tea fields

Tour in Action

A Rwanda visit, on film

From meetings at the Ministry of Health to visits to universities and hospitals, and time at the Kigali Genocide Memorial: see what a visit with a Japanese delegation looks like.

Ministry of Health
AUCA
Hospitals
Genocide Memorial

STEP 1InquiryGoals, group size and timing

STEP 2ItineraryVisits and a quote

STEP 3OrientationCulture, history, business customs

STEP 4The tourVisits, meetings, exchange

STEP 5Follow-upFrom connections to projects

Happy to talk even if you are just starting to think about it. Small groups are welcome. Ask about a tour →

Lectures

Cross-Cultural Lectures

Even complex topics, told through everyday stories that anyone can follow. We aim for lectures that are enjoyable and leave people wanting to visit Rwanda.

What three countries taught me about other cultures

Lessons from more than 35 years in Japan, the US and Rwanda on turning differences into strengths.

Rwanda's recovery and growth

From the Genocide against the Tutsi to a nation the world now watches: the people's journey and Rwanda today.

Behind the scenes at the Expo Rwanda Pavilion

Coordinating the pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, and the connections it created.

Building a career and connections across borders

Insights from running a business in the US and from international exchange, for work and life ahead.

Japan and Rwanda: far apart, yet close

Green mountains, the importance of greetings, attitudes to time, ties to family and ancestors: the surprising things two countries on opposite sides of the world share.

At Expo 2025

Lectures for visitors with visual impairments at the Expo

At the Rwanda Pavilion, we also gave lectures to groups of visitors with visual impairments. We chose our words carefully so that listeners could picture Rwanda's culture and daily life without relying on sight.

"So easy to understand."

"It was so much fun."

"I want to visit Rwanda."

Comments from people who attended our lectures at the Expo

Culture First

To do business well, first understand the culture.

However good the product or plan, trust is hard to build without understanding the other side's culture and values. Greetings, how decisions are made, attitudes to time, how relationships are formed: these everyday norms differ between Rwanda and Japan.

After more than 35 years connecting people across Japan, the US and Rwanda, we put cultural understanding before business. That is why on-the-ground tours and cross-cultural lectures sit at the heart of what we do.

SEESee Rwanda for yourself on a tour
LEARNLearn about cultural differences through lectures
CONNECTConnect with trusted partners on that foundation

Gateway to Africa

Why Rwanda

Rwanda sits almost at the center of the African continent, just south of the equator in East Africa, bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Member of the East African Community (EAC)Access to a regional market shared with Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and other neighbors.
African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)Part of the continent-wide free trade framework, opening the way to a pan-African market.
Stable and business-friendlySafe, with increasingly digital procedures, Rwanda is a common first base for companies entering Africa.

From our base in Kigali, we help you grow from Rwanda into East Africa and markets across the continent.

RwandaEAC member states

Why Chiaya Holdings

Why Work With Us

A network built over 35 years

Over 35 years across Japan, the US and Rwanda, we have built a breadth of connections few can match, from business and government to healthcare, education and local communities.

Offices in Osaka and Kigali

With entities in both Japan and Rwanda, we work on the ground in both countries.

Government and institutional access

Relationships built through running the Rwanda Pavilion at Expo 2025 and protocol for Rwanda Day.

Healthcare know-how and networks

Experience working with Rwanda's Ministry of Health, universities and hospitals helps us connect healthcare providers and companies.

Support tailored to you

From consulting for companies to support for entrepreneurs and anyone who wants to go to Rwanda, we tailor our help to each client's goals.

Services

Business Support

Business meeting between Japanese and Rwandan partners

International Business Partnerships

Introducing companies between Japan and Rwanda, coordinating between stakeholders, and supporting business partnerships.

For: Japanese companies exploring Rwanda and East Africa, and Rwandan companies seeking Japanese partners

Consulting for companies
Tailored support for entrepreneurs and people heading to Rwanda
Introductions, meetings and visit arrangements

Delegation visit to a university in Rwanda

Healthcare & Education Collaboration

Planning and coordinating projects that connect healthcare companies, educational institutions and related organizations.

For: medical device and pharmaceutical companies, hospitals and universities, and international cooperation organizations

Healthcare and education project planning
Liaison with partner institutions
Building networks of specialists and stakeholders

III

Import & Export Support

We help businesses import and export goods and products between Japan, Rwanda and the United States, from finding trading partners and arranging business meetings to connecting you with partners on the ground. First-time traders are welcome.

For: importers and retailers of Rwandan coffee, tea and other products, and Japanese companies bringing products to Rwanda

Exporting Japanese products to Rwanda
Importing Rwandan coffee and tea into Japan
Exporting Rwandan coffee to the US
Finding partners and arranging meetings

Current initiativesIn development

Exploring ways to connect Japanese medical technology and equipment with Rwanda
Preparing Japan–Rwanda cooperation projects in healthcare and research
Exploring partnerships in education, including inclusive education

Founder

Meet the Founder

Chiaya Rawlins

ロウリンス智綾

Founder & Representative
Chiaya Holdings LLC.
Chiaya Holdings Rwanda Ltd

Chiaya Rawlins with members of the Republic of Rwanda delegation — With members of the Republic of Rwanda delegation

35+years across Japan, the US and Rwanda

2025Lead coordinator, Rwanda Pavilion, Expo 2025

2,200+benefit events directed as COO

150+nationwide virtual fundraisers

For more than 35 years, Chiaya has built relationships across Japan, the United States and Rwanda. Her long engagement with Rwanda has given her a close understanding of its culture and local conditions.

She served for more than 20 years as COO of Pacific Auction Company in the United States, overseeing operations and more than 2,200 benefit events. At Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, she served as coordinator of the Rwanda Pavilion at the request of the Government of Rwanda.

"When people are joined by trust, new paths open between countries. Knowing both Japan and Rwanda, I help partners take that first step with care."

Expo 2025

Lead Coordinator, Rwanda Pavilion: main contact between the Government of Rwanda, Japanese agencies and Expo organizers; pavilion operations, protocol, delegations, VIP visits and National Day

2005–2025

COO, Pacific Auction Company (USA): multi-million-dollar budgets, 2,200+ benefit events, and 150+ nationwide virtual fundraisers after moving online during the pandemic

2018 · 2024

Protocol, Rwanda Day (San Francisco; Washington, D.C.)

1997–2000

Field Representative, Sanwa Auto (based in Rwanda): imported and sold used vehicles from Japan

Board

Vice President, FORA (since 2013); Board Member, Alliance for the Study of the Holocaust and Genocide, Sonoma State University (since 2013); Executive Committee, International Genocide Conference, CSU Sacramento (six conferences, 1996–2024)

Community

Board Member, Asian Resources, Inc.; Board Member, Florin JACL – Sacramento Valley; Fundraising Committee, CAPITAL; Treasurer, Africa Trade Show Foundation; and others

Education

B.A. in Psychology, California State University, Sacramento; Japanese language teacher training (420 hours)

Languages

Japanese, English

My Story

Thirty years alongside Rwanda

"Though Japanese and Rwandan people live on opposite sides of the world, our lives are connected by shared experiences and emotions: love, loss, joy, and resilience. We are more alike than we are different."
From the founder's book

Student years
Meeting the Rwandan community in the US
As a student in the US, she was welcomed like family by the Rwandan people she met there, and joined a Rwandan traditional dance group.
1994.12
First journey to Rwanda
After the Genocide against the Tutsi, she traveled to Rwanda to find her friend's family and see what she could do to help.
1995
Building a place to remember
With the Rwandan community in the US, she helped organize the first genocide commemoration, later known as Kwibuka, and has stayed connected with the Rwandan community ever since.
1996–2000
Living and working in Rwanda
She lived in Rwanda for about three years, working in business including importing used vehicles from Japan, and witnessed the recovery first-hand.
1996–
Sustained school support
Through the Friends of Rwanda Association, a US nonprofit, she has supported education for young Rwandans for nearly 30 years.
2025
Sharing Rwanda at Expo 2025
At the Rwanda Pavilion of Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, she served as a coordinator who knows both Rwanda's past and present, sharing the country's story with visitors from Japan.

Media

In the News

BookAmazon
Publication
A book by Chiaya Rawlins
View on Amazon →
The Yomiuri Shimbun
2025.05.10
Article on Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai
Read article →
Nikkei
2025
Feature article
Read article →
YouTubeGASIRABO NADINE
Video
GASIRABO DANCE Episode 22: Nadine with Chiaya Rawlins
Watch video →
Embassy of Japan in Rwanda (X)
Post
Featured on the Embassy's official account
View post →

Social Impact

Beyond Business

These are activities our founder has been personally involved in. They are listed separately from work contracted to the company.

From Expo 2025 to the Future

From the Expo to the future: connections between people

Expo 2025→Encounters→Collaboration→The future

At Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, our founder served as coordinator of the Rwanda Pavilion and saw many people from Rwanda and Japan meet for the first time.

The Expo has closed, but the connections made there continue. Chiaya Holdings LLC. helps those encounters grow into real collaboration in business, healthcare and education, and carries them forward to the next generation.

Rwanda Pavilion team at a Visit Rwanda evening event, Expo 2025 — A Visit Rwanda evening event at Expo 2025

Collaboration with partners at the Rwanda Pavilion, Expo 2025 — Collaboration at the Expo #LetsExpo

Inclusion

Connecting people with disabilities in Japan and Rwanda

We connect people who are blind or have low vision, people with other disabilities, and related organizations, creating chances to learn from one another across countries and cultures.

Education Support

School support that began with blankets

After the genocide, support began with blankets for orphaned children. It grew to pencils and notebooks, then to classrooms, teacher salaries, sports grounds, water tanks and libraries.

Listening to local voices and delivering what is truly needed: thirty years of this work is the foundation of everything we do.

Classrooms
Library
Vocational training
Sports ground
Water tanks

Students studying in the school library — Students in the library

A student smiling with her school report — Report in hand

Bookshelves in the school library — Donated books

Students in a masonry vocational class — Vocational training

Students smiling in a new building — In a new building

Students playing on the school grounds — On the school grounds

Kwibuka — To Remember

Remembering, and building the future

Since helping hold the first commemoration with the Rwandan community in the US in 1995, our founder has worked to remember the Genocide against the Tutsi and share its lessons. The strength of Rwandans who build the future while carrying that grief is what we most want to share.

Celebrating Kwibohora 31 on stage with Rwandan performers — Celebrating Kwibohora 31, Rwanda's Liberation Day

At a Kwibohora celebration in the United States — At a Rwandan celebration in the United States

Group photo at Sonoma State University — At Sonoma State University, USA

Connecting people, countries, and possibilities.