There is need for patience among the youth for one to become a successful entrepreneur. The remarks were made on Saturday during the 17th National Youth Council general assembly in Kigali. “Many young people start businesses, but fail to sustain them because they lack patience,” said Alphonse Nkuranga, the Executive Secretary of the National Youth Council. He noted that a five-year national employment programme to be launched this July will help solve youth unemployment as it is expected to create an average of 200,000 jobs annually. Nkuranga said the country’s development programmes like Vision 2020 and the second Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS2) are crafted to address challenges like youth unemployment. He said that about 22 youth friendly centres have already been established to equip the youth with technical and vocational skills like tailoring and hair dressing among others. David Musirikare, the Gasabo District National Youth Council co-ordinator lauded the Business Development Fund (BDF), an initiative aimed at promoting growth of small and medium enterprises. “This initiative (BDF) is timely. It will provide 75 per cent collateral for any youth interested in a bank loan for a business start up,” Musirikare said. He said as part of efforts to tackle youth unemployment, his district and other partners are set to establish a soap factory whose ground work is expected to start in December this year. The project will cost Rwf70 million. Musirikare added that the district had succeeded in establishing the first phase of a youth centre which involved putting up Rwf12 million conference centre in Ndera Sector. Jean Philbert Nsengimana, the Minister for Youth and ICT called upon youth leaders to not only stop at passing resolutions but also implement them. He observed that the assembly aimed at evaluating achievements, existing challenges as well as craft solutions. Statistics show that each year, 100,000 young people enter the labour market, but only one per cent of these manage to find gainful employment.
