To reach the desired level of university--industry collaboration (UIC) in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, specific strategies and operational mechanisms are needed. For this, an in-depth understanding of the specificities of the context concerning the UIC influencing factors is necessary. Such an understanding is still limited in SSA. This study evaluates industry's perception regarding UIC and its stimulating mechanisms using unique primary data collected from 125 agro-processing companies operating in Rwanda. Data on companies' preferences for stimulating mechanisms were collected using a discrete choice experiment (DCE). The findings indicate a low level of perceived value from current UIC activities. The most hampering challenges are related to the fact that students are not well prepared to take part in collaboration activities and to irrelevant research outputs. Companies' preferences regarding stimulating mechanisms are mainly the provision of financial incentives for instilling commitment, the use of an external independent company as a form of UIC governance and building trust using the provision of high-quality graduates and research. The study draws on industry preferences to make recommendations on the best way to stimulate UIC in developing countries.