4 Women-Led Rwandan Enterprises Creating the Next Generation of Female Entrepreneurs

According to the 2018 Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs “African entrepreneurship is undergoing a transformation… a ‘feminization’”. No longer an almost exclusive remit of men, entrepreneurship is seeing its gender gap decrease — and in some African countries, begin to disappear.

This is good news. Deliverforgood.org estimates that $28 trillion dollars could be added to the world’s GDP if only the women’s participation in the economy could be increased.

Rwanda is one of the leading countries in this regard and is beginning to reap the benefits. According to the IFC, in Rwanda, women head 42 percent of enterprises. They also comprise 58 percent of enterprises in the informal sector, which accounts for 30 percent of GDP.

These impressive numbers are not the result of chance. There are several organizations in Rwanda that are working hard to help unleash the next generation of female entrepreneurs. Many of these organizations are headed by women themselves. Here are four that we find particularly worth following.

1. Akilah Institute

Founded in 2010, the Akilah Institute is Rwanda’s award-winning women’s college and one of the most respected institutions of higher learning in the East Africa region. More than 500 female leaders have graduated from Akilah, sparking successful careers in the fields of business, entrepreneurship, information systems, and hospitality. On average, graduates go on to earn 12x the median national income.

Among its success story alumnae are entrepreneurs employing hundreds of people, award-winning software developers, healthcare innovators, and even Rwanda’s first ever female safari operator.

Akilah currently has almost 1,000 students enrolled at its Kigali campus, the first plastic-free campus in Rwanda.

You can follow Akilah on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

2. Urugo Women Opportunity Center

The Urugo Women Opportunity Center is operated by Women for Women International and provides dedicated facilities where women can learn, build new skills, and operate businesses that directly contribute to the local communities.

The Center is a hub for entrepreneurship, with dedicated space that women entrepreneurs can use for income generating activities, business mentoring, access to financial services and markets, and cooperative and agribusiness support.

You can follow the Urugo Women Opportunity Center by visiting their website.

3. Relationship Coffee Institute

The Relationship Coffee Institute was born from a partnership between Bloomberg Philanthropies and Sustainable Harvest. The Institute empowers Rwandan women coffee farmers through training and market access by serving as a connection point to international and local buyers. It aims to provide gateways for women into sustainable and profitable agriculture. The Institute also runs Question Coffee, one of Rwanda’s leading coffee distributors and coffee shops.

The Relationship Coffee Institute began its work in Rwanda in 2013, piloting a new training model with two cooperatives of over 4,000 women. After the successful pilot program more than doubled farmer incomes, the work in Rwanda has scaled to include 56 cooperatives and is now reaching 25,000 women.

You can follow the Relationship Coffee Institute on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

4. Women’s Bakery

Women’s Bakery is a social enterprise that helps women start successful bakery businesses. Over 100 women have already benefitted from the extensive training (spanning more than 150 hours), as well as mentorship and marketing support offered by Women’s Bakery. The organization operates five bakeries in Rwanda where training takes place and where graduates can work until they open their own businesses.

Graduates from the Women’s Bakery typically have a threefold increase in revenues within two years of completing the program.

You can follow the Women’s Bakery on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.