The Young Impact Associates (YIA) Programme graduated its second cohort on May 8 at Mövenpick Hotel Kigali, adding to a growing pipeline of young professionals trained to design, measure, and apply evidence in development settings across Rwanda and the continent.

The programme is a Mastercard Foundation investment under its Young Africa Works strategy, implemented by Vanguard Economics. It targets a specific bottleneck: the shortage of work-ready professionals in Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL).

Participants are selected from a competitive pool of over 2,000 applicants and spend months on real-world assignments in health, education, agriculture, climate, and district planning. Across its first two cohorts, the programme has engaged 101 associates in five countries with 62 per cent of them being women.

In her welcoming remarks on behalf of the Mastercard Foundation, Steffi B Nineza, Head of Gender and Inclusion, connected the programme to a broader target: enabling 300,000 young Rwandans to access dignified work by 2030 under the Young Africa Works strategy.

"The programme is one of Mastercard Foundation's key investments in developing the next generation of impact leaders," she said. Dr Kato Kimbugwe, Managing Director at Vanguard Economics also argued that Rwanda's development challenges require homegrown solutions, and that building them starts with equipping the next generation to lead with evidence.

A fireside chat with graduates gave the room a direct account of what the programme demands. Participants spoke of moving from theory to practice, of being pushed to think beyond technical skills, and of leaving with a clearer sense of purpose.

Dascha Mwiza Karekezi, a public health professional, put it plainly:

"You are thrown into the deep end, and you either swim or drown." Ange Ashimwe, completing a master's in Global Technology and Development at Arizona State University, said it shifted her thinking from access to participation. "How do we make sure people are able not only to access life but actually enjoy and live it?"

In the keynote, Adeline Sibanda, Senior Director of Impact Delivery at the Mastercard Foundation, told graduates that the work ahead carries ethical weight, not just professional responsibility.

"You are not just entering the world of work. You are entering the work of shaping the world," she said. "The world does not just need more professionals. It needs more ethical, grounded, transformative leaders."

That responsibility is already being carried. 93 per cent of the first cohort secured employment upon completion, among them Lydie Umuhire, who is now Executive Advisor in the Office of the Chief Benefits Officer at the Rwanda Social Security Board.

She testified that the programme's value shows up precisely when you are placed somewhere unfamiliar.

"I've never had any background in social security or health," she said, "but I'm being able to manage and adapt because of the skills I got from the programme."

Speaking from her own experience, she was unequivocal: "You will never be unemployed with the skill set that you now have." For the new graduates, the journey does not end here.

Antonio Capillo, Director at the Mastercard Foundation Innovation Labs spoke of the YIA initiative’s intention to build more than a cohort.

"It was about building a long-term community of young impact leaders committed to shaping new ways of understanding, measuring and enabling impact," he said.

To that end, graduates were welcomed into the foundation's Rwanda alumni network, which connects young people across Mastercard Foundation programmes in the region, offering continued engagement, professional connections, and shared pathways forward.