Singaporean distiller wins recognition for his ‘made in Rwanda’ rum

Photo credit: Imizi Rum

Singaporean entrepreneur Rohan Shah, founder of Umwero Terroir Spirits, recently clinched the International Wine & Spirit Competition’s Emerging Talent in Spirits award for Imizi an artisanal rum that he has produced in Rwanda.

Shah, who studied at Harvard University to become a development economist, converted his passion for cocktails into entrepreneurship when he registered Umwero Terroir Spirits in 2022. After completing his degree programme, Rohan worked with small-scale farmers in Africa and India for a non-profit organisation. When Covid struck, he was forced to move back to Singapore and work remotely. As quarantine restrictions eased he started to moonlight at a local bar called Native, which specialised in Southeast Asian spirits and ingredients.

The experience motivated Shah to blend his interest in emerging market development with his passion for alcohol. He decided to create an alcohol brand in Africa that ‘would tell the continent's stories through its spirits’. His experience in the development sector revealed the lack of market access faced by small-scale farmers in Africa. Rwanda has just one sugar refinery, which does not purchase from the smallholder farmers. These farmers typically sell their sugarcane in local markets, where it is bought for chewing. So, he decided to source the sugarcane that goes into the production of the Imizi rum from them and in doing so solved for the problem of market access.

Rohan Shah (middle) in Rwanda.

According to Rohan the the ‘premium rum’ sector is expanding by 6% to 8% annually. He notes that revenue growth is outpacing volume, suggesting a shift towards higher-end rum purchases. Imizi is branded as "forest rum," a marketing strategy to differentiate the product from the conventional narratives of rum that typically focus on island life.

Thus far, his venture is entirely self-funded. Shah recounts that in the initial months in Rwanda, where his efforts were focused on fermenting and distilling to determine if he could develop a product that genuinely excited him. Subsequently, he established a small factory in Kigali and secured all the required licences. After everything was in place, he started selling the product to collect some market feedback. Imizi rum is currently being produced in very small batches. Rohan hosts a monthly pop-up bar to educate consumers about rum and promote its products. He now lives in Rwanda and is in the process of seeking investment to build a commercial-scale factory.  

 

References

‘S’porean, 28, mixes passion for cocktails with social work to make rum in Rwanda’, The Straits Times, 06 May 2023

‘[Rum Of Tomorrow] Imizi: botanical and forest rum from Rwanda’, Rumporter, 30 December 2023

‘Rohan Shah announced as IWSC's 2024 Emerging Talent in Spirits winnre’, The International Wine & Spirit Competition, 20 February 2024