Golden Insect LTD

“I want my company, Golden Insect, to bring land to life and life to land,” Dominique Xavio Imbabazi.

Golden Insect is a vermicompost and vermiliquid producer based in Musanze, Ruhigeri, in the Southern Province of Rwanda. The company transforms ten tons of biowaste into organic fertilizer every month. Led by the trailblazing Dominique Xavio Imbabazi, known simply as Xavio, Golden Insect collaborates with the local community by collecting food waste from restaurants, schools, and hospitals. This waste is combined with animal waste and treated with red worms—one of Xavio’s “golden insects.” Through precise turning, watering, and hand-sorting of the compost, these worms help produce high-quality organic fertilizers essential for farmers adopting regenerative or organic farming practices.  

In founding Golden Insect, Xavio defied expectations. After earning his diploma, he was expected to enter the traditional job market but instead saw the untapped potential in waste management. Engaging and employing members of his community, he began training schools, hospitals, smallholder farms, and restaurants to properly sort their waste to maximize inputs for the compost. Today, Golden Insect employs waste collectors throughout the region, many of whom use adapted bicycles, affectionately called “the limousines” due to their length.  

Golden Insect’s work has profoundly impacted the local community by shifting mindsets about waste and its value. The company provides critical employment to local women, who not only collect waste but also hand-sort compost, and many community members now recognize waste as a resource for transformation. Golden Insect’s practices are inherently circular, benefiting both the environment and the local economy.  

“I've learned that I've been doing circular economy without knowing that I'm doing that," Dominique Xavio Imbabazi.

Since participating in the CIRF training, Xavio and Golden Insect have identified further circular opportunities and aim to expand their market. They are currently pursuing government certification, which will facilitate more extensive sales and business growth. By engaging with other SMEs across Africa through the CIRF program, Golden Insect is building capacity through improved business planning and marketing strategies.  

“I got a chance to participate in different conferences and sessions, for example, the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi. I met different SMEs and networked with them. I also exchanged ideas that opened my mind to the extent that I have to redesign and rephrase my working models, marketing models, and other things to ensure that I'm meeting national and international standards when it comes to our products from circular economy practices.”