Bank of Kigali (BK) hosted an International Women’s Day gala dinner on Friday, March 8 at the Kigali Convention Centre. The event created a joyful atmosphere for women to socialize, eat, dance, and enjoy Neptunez Band’s empowering tunes.

Some women shared their business and career success stories to inspire others that, despite the challenges of starting a business, with consistency, improvement, hands-on skills, and mentorship, they can achieve their dreams.

During a panel discussion focusing on this year's theme, "Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress”, Diane Karusisi, the CEO of BK, recounted her journey starting as a student who consistently scored distinctions due to her love for learning.

Her exceptional performance led to numerous job opportunities where she was tasked with leading various groups, helping her develop strong leadership skills.

"I have been heading BK since 2016 and I believe that women are able. They need to be resilient and have people that influence them, especially those in their area of business, or career,” Karusisi said.

She also noted that women ought to be inspired and empowered to be what they want, as she used to look up to ministers and other women in high positions and was assured that she could do it too.

Karusisi noted that from a young age, being smart made it easy for people to recognise her abilities and find a mentor.

She encouraged women to engage in networking, emphasising its role in her current success through the opportunities to learn from others.

Furthermore, Karusisi emphasised that BK has empowered women to take on leadership roles, pointing out the significant number of female branch managers in the bank and its support for women’s cooperatives in their growth and advancement.

She called upon women to listen to their inner voices and close their ears to naysayers.

She said: "If we continue empowering women, Rwanda will be a better nation in the coming years.”

Roselyne Nyirahategekimana, the founder of Work Roselyne Ltd, an agri-business leading the production of rosella hibiscus, was among the panellists. When she started her business in 2018, her worry was if she would get customers, and that she had little capital.

She then joined the BK Urumuri programme where her juice production project was selected, and she received a loan of Rwf 5 million to boost her operations. The funding enabled her production to increase from 20 litres to between 200-300 litres of fruit and hibiscus juice.

Nyirahategekimana heartened women who want to start a business to jot down their business plans to make better decisions.

"Don’t worry about risks, as they incite change and improvement,” she noted.

Evas Kyomugisha, the founder and Managing Director of SilverBells Rwanda, a school for children with special needs started in 2018, rented a small house for children who had illnesses like autism and Down syndrome.

In 2019, she purchased land, built a school, and initiated a Cambridge programme. Yet, she struggled with parental trust, many feared she might shut down the school abruptly. Additionally, hiring posed a challenge as potential employees doubted her ability to afford their salaries.

Kyomugisha acquired BK’s financial support which enabled her to enhance her school, thus gaining the trust of parents. She started with five students, to 10 and the number increased to 30 after one month.

She encouraged women to partake in partnership programmes and pursue courses in financial literacy.

"Have a plan and direction. Be committed, and love what you do. Have mentors who have excelled in that business to guide you and most importantly, have a work-life balance,” she stated.

Chantal Murebwa, founder of New Kigali Designers, has been in business for more than 20 years.

During the panel discussions, she noted that starting her business was hard without enough capital to pay for skilled labour, but BK offered her a bank facility— a loan taken out by a company.

Her advice to women planning to start businesses is to know and learn about the business they want, study the market, be consistent and patient, and have practical expertise.

"We all started small but grew with skills and consistency. There are many opportunities for women since they are supported, for example by bank institutions.”

During her speech, the guest of honour, Beata Habyarimana, the CEO of BK Group, stressed that she refers International Women’s Day to International Women’s Rights Day.

"People like to think about flowers, chocolates and so many different gifts on this day, but I don’t want you to forget how this journey started. Women were denied many rights like the right to vote, a right to work and so many rights.”

She called upon women to do their best to have access to finance, stressing how BK has a responsibility to provide services that help women access finance like BK Urumuri.

Habyarimana highlighted BK’s milestone of enabling women to work in a safe environment where they can breastfeed their babies exclusively through the initiation of breastfeeding rooms—which helps women employees work hard and comfortably with security for their babies.

"BK has also got paternity leave for male employees that allows them to help their wives during maternity. We do not just inspire change but we are the change. All of you who are here, if you have female employees, think about them, create good conditions for them to work freely whether they are pregnant, breastfeeding or have given birth. This will increase their productivity at work,” she added.

BK Urumuri is back and aims at supporting new entrepreneurs with financial challenges and looking to expand their businesses. In partnership with Inkomoko, the bank chooses 25 people with a focus on women in various sectors such as agriculture, dairy, and beauty salons. This initiative offers women in business the opportunity to access loans without requiring collateral.