Challenges include illiteracy, traditional biases about women's roles, potential environmental damage from development projects and rapid population growth.

[2] On 20 April 1993 the President of the International Development Association recommended a credit of SDR 7.5 Million for a Social Action Project (BURSAP), or Twitezimbere in the local language, which would cut across the areas of growth, employment generation, essential services and monitoring of poverty.

If it was successful in implementing micro-projects that had a good record of improving living standards, it was assumed that there would be no difficulty in raising funding from external donors, organizations and the government.

[6] The Dolomite Pilot Project was initiated within the PAGRIS framework by the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) working with the Ministry of Environment, Agriculture and Livestock (MINEAGRIE).

The cooperatives facilitate ordering and purchase from the members and group sale of production, and arranges access to credits from financial institutions.

It also aims to train smallholder farmers in good agricultural practices, and to support the private sector in setting up demonstration fields.

This rate of growth, if sustained, will make it impossible to meet the basic needs of the population, including food security, education and health care.

[11] As of 2024 Health Action International, supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Burundi and in partnership with Twitezimbere, was working on the MSE project.

This is to ensure social protection for the very vulnerable population, while preparing them, in the long term, to access the financial services offered by micro-finance institutions.

Activities were initially concentrated on the 14 provinces covered by IFAD technical projects, Bubanza, Bujumbura, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Muramvya, Muyinga, Ngozi, Ruyigi, Rutana, Bururi and Rumonge.

[13] A 2024 article about women's participation in the Twitezimbere and Rekatujane rice cooperatives in the Commune of Gihanga, Bubanza Province, outlined some of the challenges.

[16] The report recommended that the local administration should work with the leaders of the cooperatives to help change the attitudes of men who thought that women's place was in the home.

They should also encourage women to participate in agricultural cooperatives through meetings and support, and should promote education of girls in rural areas.

[20] In 1996 granting of micro-credits for income-generating activities began as part of the Poverty Reduction project, with the financial support of the African Development Bank.

[21] In September 2022 the Ministry of Environment, Agriculture and Livestock requested proposals for an individual consultant to develop the Twitezimbere Microfinance savings and credit manual.