He made this remark on Wednesday when he attended the Youth Connekt Convention at Intare Conference Arena where over 2000 Rwandan youth from across all districts and 15 countries are gathered including those who will also participate in the upcoming Umushyikirano.
Kagame said that the future of Rwanda is in the hands of young people.
He said that Rwanda’s past was so damaged that it took a bad reputation, and asked the youth to take the lead in changing it.
“Our country used to be defined by a bad history and the wrong character and identity. But today as we stand here, the goal is to transform this country, change the wrong that used to define us and build the kind of unity that will define us for future generations,” he said.
He further said that the bad history will be deleted with development.
He urged the youth to maintain the mindset of self-employment.
President Kagame further stated that creating one’s own job does not require that someone has no other job as it is often mistaken.
“Being self-employed doesn’t necessarily require that someone cannot find another job. Entrepreneurship does not depend on your age. The first step towards becoming an entrepreneur is that you have grown in thinking and not just because you do not have a job to give you a salary,” he said.
He said that although self employment begins with the benefit of one person, it also benefits the country because the one who created a job may employ others.
He explained that all of this cannot be attained by people with shallow thinking.
“We have to think big. Our goals and ambitions must be beyond our geographical size. Entrepreneurship, security, development, moving our country forward must all be based on thinking big,” he said.
Youths participating in the Youth Connekt Convention include young entrepreneurs from across the country’s districts, universities and secondary schools, youth unions, and the Rwandan diaspora, among others.
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