Rwandan entrepreneurs have been urged to contribute to the country’s target to create 1.5 million jobs by 2024.

The call was made recently by the Head of Department for Strategic Capacity Development at Rwanda Development Board (RDB), Viateur Nzabanita as he addressed the youth participating in the Africa Future of Work and Entrepreneurship Summit.

Organized by Amplyfy through its subsidiary-Learnible Global, a Learning Innovation Company based in Rwanda, the summit brought together young people from different countries.

“Entrepreneurial innovations leads to the reallocation of resources from traditional economy to modern economy,” said Nzabanita.

He explained that Rwanda has different programs to empower the youth and enhance their competencies at the labour market.

He cited, among others, the establishment of Business development Fund (BDF) which provides funding to the youth without collateral.

Nzabanita also highlighted that the country’s plan to create over 1.5 under the National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) million jobs by 2024 cannot materialize without cooperation.

"This target cannot be achieved without entrepreneurship workforce […] As we talk about the future, we have to consider the skilling and up-skilling which are very critical to have the workforce combining deep knowledge needed to adapt to the labour market,” he noted.

Muyiwa Fasakin, a panelist from Nigeria underscored that creating innovations, decision-making, taking risks and competition is among key drivers for entrepreneurs to thrive.

Advice to young entrepreneurs

Dr. Gaidi Faraj, one of entrepreneurs who attended the summit observed that the future of work in Africa requires dedication and close collaboration among employees for businesses to flourish.

He also advised entrepreneurs to be passionate and set goals helping them to achieve envisaged targets before beginning implementation of their projects.

Yussouf Ntwali, the CEO of BAG Innovation, an online platform which upskills the youth and connects them to employers to curb unemployment, disclosed that the latter was established to bridge skills gap among the youth to tackle unemployment.

He advised entrepreneurs to set aside fears to overcome challenges and leverage technology if they are to expand their businesses.

Laurene Umutoni Rwema, the founder of Uzi Collections said that she ventured into business after realizing that there is a gap in promoting Made in Rwanda garments.

She cited discipline among other values that should characterize entrepreneurs if they want to take businesses to greater heights.

Parfine Mizero, a participant from Amplyfy said that the summit left many lessons with regard to the creation of jobs and business growth.

“Participating in this summit is very helpful as I acquired deeper understanding on the future of Africa’s workforce. The youth have been inspired that it is possible to grow businesses from little resources to achieve great things,” she revealed.

The Private Sector Development Specialist at the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MINICOM), Berthe Ndayambaje Rwagitare recalled Rwanda’s initiatives to empower and support young people’s projects and urged them to set aside fears and tap into available opportunities.

Malik Shaffy, African Management Institute (AMI) Rwanda Country Director observed that academic degrees will no longer be a prerequisite for employment in the future but rather competencies.

AE News