Author: Nicole Kamanzi Muteteri

The signing ceremony was held at the SDGC/A Office.

The partnership will facilitate a long-term collaboration between the two institutions based on their complementary interest and capacities. This reflects both parties’ willingness to work together on key matters related to promoting financial inclusion and financial sector development, which is vital to the achievement of Rwanda’s National Strategy for Transformation (NST1), Vision 2050 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The MoU which was signed by the AFR Country Director, Mr. Jean Bosco Iyacu and Ms. Caroline Makasa, Acting Director General of The SDGC/A; is a formal agreement of mutual commitment and partnership between the two institutions towards strengthening financial Inclusion and financial sector development in Rwanda.

The new partnership will strengthen the development, adaptation, and delivery of the best practices, knowledge, technologies, and policies to contribute to the acceleration of financial inclusion and inclusive economic growth, which is a critical enabler for the attainment of the SDGs in Rwanda.

“We believe a robust and inclusive financial sector plays a very important role in facilitating the achievement of the SDGs and institutional collaboration as highlighted in SDG 17 on Partnerships for the goals is of paramount importance” said AFR country Director, Jean Bosco Iyacu.

He added that the collaboration with SDGC/A is timely as AFR enters a new five year strategy aiming to facilitate a diverse and inclusive financial sector that delivers real value to the economy and people, in particular unserved and underserved populations.

“Financial inclusion has been embedded in many of the SDGs, which underscore its critical importance that creates conditions for SDGs to be within reach. Given the increasing empirical evidence on the role of financial inclusion in the achievement of SDGs, it should get more priority than before. In this regard, the collaboration between AFR and the SDGC/A is a timely one that will contribute a lot in moving towards full and equal access to formal financial services for all in Rwanda” said Caroline Makasa, Acting Director General of the SDGC/A.

These graduates who received certificates on Thursday range from the age brackets of 16 and 24.

31% of them are male while 69% are female.

The program aimed at promoting youth’s talent was initiated to help those who did not get chance to complete secondary school, the youth who dropped out of schools among others with dormant talents.

The Executive Director of Root Foundation, Muragwa Bienvenue has explained that the organization draws emphasis on photography, video production and editing, professional dance and music production.

“We offered courses in four categories, acquainted them with efficient skills to fine tune their works and good morals that should characterize artistes,” he said.

Muragwa revealed that they target to extend the program to 400 beneficiaries in different cohorts for the period of two years.

Kobusingye Pierrine, one of graduates in photography has said that acquired skills will be utilized efficiently.

“Before the training, I had a camera but had no skills to take good photos. I was like someone with shoes that do fit them. The training has significantly improved my skills as I have been capacitated to take good photos, footages and edit them,” revealed Kobusingye.

“I usually play ‘solo’. I have learnt a lot from the training most importantly team work spirit because it makes more sense and appeals to spectaculars when you are part of a particular band,” explained Dushimimana Chris, another graduate.

Elie Mandela, Program Analyst at Mastercard Foundation in charge of Youth has commended Root Foundation for organizing the courses and requested graduates to continue updating their skills and apply them appropriately.

“The skills you have acquired should be the beginning and foundation for new life and take advantage of them to make more practices and train colleagues,” he enthused.

David Musirikare, Gasabo District National Youth Council co-coordinator has urged graduates to be characterized by good conducts and stay focused to use their skills to the maximum for a bright future. The second cohort is expected to start courses in May 2021.

The sensitization campaign, which started on April 20, also seeks to enlighten communities on health and trauma matters.

While addressing representatives of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in Juba, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Jeannette Masozera, the FPU-3 Contingent Commander said that domestic and sexual violences is a serious human rights violation which often leaves permanent scars to victims.

“Domestic and sexual gender based violence is a widespread problem with serious consequences in terms of personal suffering, health complications including trauma, disability, lead to significant costs for healthcare systems which also affect families financially, and sometimes fatal,” SSP Masozera said.

She added that SGBV is any harmful act of sexual, physical, psychological, mental and emotional abuse sometimes caused by cultural practices and power control over others by men or women.

According to SSP Masozera, breaking cultural barriers in communities, early intervention in family violence, breaking silence, supporting victims, counselling and advocacy help in dealing with the vice.

“Fighting domestic violence requires community involvement and breaking silence to share information for immediate response. It requires all men and women to understand each other and valuing each one’s opinion and concerns, and sharing responsibilities in the family,” said SSP Masozera.

Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Joseph Ndamiye Rugazora, the Chief Medical Officer for FPU-3, enlightened the local population on health and trauma matters including types of trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder and management of trauma.

He highlighted human disasters such as wars, community violence, family conflicts, sexual violence, threats, refugees and racial as some of the causes of trauma.

CIP Rugazora encouraged them to always seek counseling, psychotherapy, body relation and physical exercises as well as support from family and community members as some of the ways to manage trauma.

The statement released last night shows that majority of new cases (162) were found in districts of Southern Province including Nyamagabe: 41, Huye: 37, Nyaruguru: 32, Muhanga: 24, and Kamonyi: 12.

Rwanda confirmed the first Coronavirsus case on 14th March 2020. Since then, 24 459 people have been tested positive of whom 22 696 have recovered, 1435 are active cases, 7 are critically ill while 328 have succumbed to the virus.

Coronavirus symptoms include coughing, flu, and difficulty in breathing. The virus is said to be transmitted through the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract.

Rwandans are urged to adhere to COVID-19 health guidelines, washing hands frequently using soaps and safe water, wearing face masks and respecting social distancing.

Birthday parties are among the prohibited events under the government directives on the prevention of the COVID-19 pandemic spread.

Police and local leaders found the group congregating in a house located in Kimihurura cell of Kimihurura Sector celebrating the birthday for one Kevin Safari, 21, who is among the arrested violators.

The owner of the house, who lives in USA, had left it under the protection of a local private security company.

The security guard at the house identified as Yves Nzamurambaho and the house-help, Jean Irankunda connived with the birthday party organizers to host it at the house.

The violators were on Friday, April 23, paraded before the media at the Police Metropolitan Headquarters in Remera.

The majority are young people aged between 18 and 28.

RNP Spokesperson, Commissioner of Police (CP) John Bosco Kabera said the violators were arrested on April 22, at about 2pm following a tip-off by concerned local residents.

“These inappropriate behaviours, especially by the young people, will not be tolerated. We thank members of the public, who continue to be compliant but also report such violations,” CP Kabera warned.

He added that the partnership between the Police, other security organs, local leaders, community policing groups especially the youth volunteers and the public in general, has been effective in educating and enforcing the directives.

“Complying with the directives and health guidelines in particular is for your own safety. Coronavirus is still in our midst, with new infections every day and related fatalities. These parties can lead to another wave of spread.”

The RNP Spokesperson reminded the public to continue observing all measures meant to contain the spread of Covid-19 and commended citizens for information sharing on violators.

Kevin Safari, who had invited his colleagues for his birthday party, regretted the behaviours and advised other people especially the youth to abide by the directives and safety guidelines.

Yves Nzamurambaho, a security guard at the house where the party was hosted acknowledged his mistakes, begged for pardon and pledged to adhere to all Covid-19 containment guidelines.

The violators were enlightened on directives and health practices to contain Covid-19 and also fined for the violation.

This 10-month programme will offer seed capital, valuable training and mentorship opportunities to eligible young entrepreneurs.

Speaking about this initiative, MTN Rwanda’s Chief Consumer and Digital Officer, Yaw Ankoma Agyapong said: “We set up Yolo as a platform to help the youth of Rwanda unleash their potential and drive them to achieve greatness. We are keen on investing in developing youth and want to make sure they are well-equipped to sustain their businesses, in line with MTN’s drive to contribute to the growth of SMEs thus promoting Rwanda’s growth.”

MTN’s partnership with Inkomoko aims to empower and provide youth-led businesses with the right practical knowledge and skills that will strengthen their innovative capabilities amidst an evolving digital world.

Through a competitive application process, 6 youth-led SMEs/start-ups will be selected to receive:

• A free 5-month accelerator from Inkomoko, including training, assessment, and consulting.

• 3 out of the 6 businesses will compete to be selected to receive monetary funding support from MTN.

• Webinars with industry experts to help boost their businesses

• Communication essentials and advertising platforms from MTN

Only participants whose business plans fulfil the criteria below of viability and sustainability will be selected for the programme.

• The applicant must be Rwandan.

• Must be a business owner aged 18-30.

• Must have digital presence or use e-commerce.

• Must have annual revenue of less than Rwf 200,000,000.

• The company must have proof of registration with Rwanda Development Board (RDB) for at least 1 year.

• Priority will be given to youth-led businesses that are making a social/environmental impact.

Commenting on the partnership, Sara Leedom, Inkomoko’s Chief Operating Officer said: “’Levelling up’ means taking on the next challenge. We at Inkomoko see youth entrepreneurs in Rwanda take on the challenge of being more digital, using eCommerce, and embracing innovation. Inkomoko is excited for our partnership with MTN to help young entrepreneurs embrace the challenge and grow even further. Level Up Your Biz is an opportunity for digitally connected entrepreneurs to gain more management skills from Inkomoko and digital tools from MTN.”

Level Up Your Biz is in line with MTN’s digital ambition as it focuses on capacity building for businesses that use digital platforms to innovate and provide local solutions that address a market need in Rwanda.

“Our mission is to lead digital for a brighter Rwanda where everyone is connected to the digital world. By supporting these young entrepreneurs, we see ourselves as partners on their digitization journey as they realise their entrepreneurial dreams,” concluded Agyapong.

Interested applicants can apply through https://www.mtn.co.rw/yolo/sme/.
For any enquiries about the Level Up Your Biz programme, please call/email: 0788358639/info@inkomoko.com.

{{About MTN Rwandacell }}

MTN Rwandacell Plc (MTN Rwanda) is the market leader in mobile telecommunications in Rwanda. Since 1998, we have continuously invested in expanding and modernising our network and are now the country’s No 1 internet network. MTN Rwanda offers various services to subscribers, including innovative propositions such as personalised voice and data offers with MTN Irekure. The company is also the front runner in mobile financial services in Rwanda with Mobile Money, MoMoPay and MoKash Loans and Savings.

{{About Inkomoko Entrepreneur Development}}

Inkomoko Entrepreneur Development offers full-service business consulting in Rwanda, with offices in Kigali and Musanze, as well as six refugee camps. Our work focuses specifically on developing the skills, systems, and networks for entrepreneurs in Rwanda to successfully develop, operate, and expand their enterprises for increased profit and job creation. To date, Inkomoko has worked with 14,000 entrepreneurs to help them create more than 5,500 jobs in Rwanda. Our portfolio of clients is diverse — agriculture, food processing, tourism & hospitality, retail, and export businesses, for example.