We study post-war recovery in Rwanda, focusing on the coffee sector. First, we find that the role played by the rise in international coffee prices largely outweighed the one played by domestic policies. Second, we reveal the legacy of armed conflict, by analyzing how the recovery of the coffee sector varied sub-nationally. In 1999 – five years after the peak of the violence – we observe a significant investment gap in highly violence-affected regions. By 2009 the gap is however closed. We argue that the catching up was fostered by positive externalities generated by highprofile public investments in the coffee sector.