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The Problem
Just over twenty years ago, Rwanda was entrapped in a brutal civil war that culminated in genocide and the deaths of 800,000 people. The Rwanda of today has stabilized, yet it continues to suffer from the problems that have become endemic for many African nations. The average citizen lives on less than $700 (U.S.) a year, far below Sub-Saharan African averages, and nearly half of all citizens live in poverty. Opportunities for employment are few, even for those with a college education. These problems are most evident among women, who are far more likely to work in nonpaying jobs, and those who are paid make considerably less than their male counterparts.
Our Mission
We will help train the next generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders to create innovative and sustainable solutions to the problems plaguing their communities through our partnership with the African Innovation Prize.
Our Experience
Our summer 2015 project saw us collaborate with Duhugurane, "Let us Learn from Each Other" in Kinyarwanda, a business services group dedicated to providing young men and women the chance to turn their enterprise ideas into reality. We mentored twelve entrepreneurs to help develop their business plans with the opportunity to receive 200, 000 Rwandan Francs in concept funding upon completion of the program. The program was successful in funding five entrepreneurs to prove their concepts in the field.
What We Will Do
This year we’re building on our past success to improve the impact the project has in local communities. GPE Rwanda will be working with the African Innovation Prize (AIP). AIP coordinates yearly business plan competitions with the purpose of training the next generation of business leaders and problem solvers. We will travel to various national universities and teach classes of diverse students driven to make an impact in their local community and Rwanda as a whole. These students will be part of two month training course designed to solve the needs of their communities in innovative and sustainable ways. The goal is to prepare these students for a competition that involves building viable business plans to help tackle issues Rwandan’s are facing today. Ten contestants will be picked from all across Rwanda’s national universities and receive a prize of 2,000,000 Rwandan Francs. The GPE team will directly facilitate the workshops and mentor students in creating successful business plans.
About The Team
The GPE Rwanda team is made of passionate students who are determined to use what they have learned while studying at The Florida State University to make a lasting impact in Rwanda. They bring a wide variety of expertise in the fields of Economics, Accounting, Mathematics, and International Relations. They will use this knowledge, with help from their partners to implement curriculum, that will give participants the tools they need to succeed.
Success Stories
Zahara used the concept funding that she received from the training to open her own clothing store in downtown Kigali, the capital and largest city in Rwanda. She believes that having her own store will help her signal the quality of her clothes to her customers and distinguish her from her competitors.
Immaculee used her concept funding to acquire an oven to use in her cake bakery. She is targeting the lucrative wedding and party industries and has already secured orders for weddings with around 600 expected attendees. As well as being an exceptional entrepreneur, Immaculee recently became a proud mother and hopes that her cake business can help secure her families security.
Fredrick used his concept funding to repurpose his family’s land in Rwanda’s Eastern Provence to start a goat farm. Fredrick cited a lack of cheap and quality goat meat, a Rwandan staple, as his reason for perusing this endeavor. In addition to starting his business, he hopes to use the skills that he acquired to help his neighbors start businesses utilizing their own land.
How You Can Help
Your contribution will allow the GPE team of volunteers to directly interact with students at national universities in Rwanda. This is not aide, students will have to learn and apply that knowledge to win the grant money at the end of the course. This is an aspect that separates the Rwanda project from many other charities as it focuses on a ground-up approach to solving poverty by empowering the Rwandan community.
Learn more about Global Peace Exchange and its projects at www.globalpeaceexchange.org
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