It’s been said that countries that do business together tend to enjoy peace. And Mireya Jones of Pasadena is doing her part to create business ties to other countries.

Jones, the owner of Jones Coffee Roasters, has taken on a protégé from Africa. That would be Immy Kamarade, who came to Los Angeles from Rwanda to learn how to export coffee.

The mentorship was arranged by the Oklahoma City-based Institute for Economic Empowerment for Women as part of its Peace Through Business program. Created in 2006 as a mentorship program for Afghan women, Peace Through Business has expanded to include women entrepreneurs from Rwanda.

Kamarade, 43, owns a coffee company in the African country. Jones, who has mentored women from Central America, co-owns a coffee plantation in Guatemala, so they had some notes to compare. What did Kamarade learn?

“The coffee business is not really different – the only difference is the market,” Kamarade said. “Back home, not a lot of people consume coffee. So I can see I will have to make my projects smaller, but I’m hoping to export more of my coffee.”

Kamarade was scheduled to fly back to Rwanda late last week. Under the program’s guidelines, Jones is supposed to keep in touch with her as she turns her plans for coffee exporting into reality, and Kamarade is supposed to teach business lessons to the women of her country.