Over 76 youth and rural communities’ small projects initiated by CorpsAfrica youth volunteers are seeking scale-up financing from local stakeholders, potential donors, financiers, the private sector, and the community. Scale-up financing is a critical aspect of business growth, providing the necessary capital to fuel expansion and propel a company to the next level. As businesses aim to scale rapidly and tap into emerging markets, they require substantial funding to support their growth initiatives. CorpsAfrica Rwanda, on March 28, 2024, hosted its third ‘Project Demo Day’ featuring presentations by youth volunteers showcasing the innovative project proposals that they helped youth and rural communities to initiate and design. Facilitated by CorpsAfrica, a non-profit organisation, and local leaders, the volunteers were deployed into rural areas with people who live under the poverty line and whose children suffer from malnutrition among many issues. The volunteers facilitate community meetings to identify local needs in health, education, small business development, urban planning and infrastructure, agriculture, the environment, and more. They then initiate and facilitate projects that fulfil these key needs in their communities. The vulnerable communities are located in eight districts of Bugesera, Rulindo, Gicumbi, Huye, Gisagara, Musanze, Rutsiro, and Ngororero. Project Demo Day The needy communities and youth’s small projects were, on March 28, during ‘Project Demo Day’, pitched by youth volunteers and communities’ representatives to local stakeholders, potential donors, financiers, corporate entities, public institutions, and private organisations, and the community representatives to secure scale-up financing from them. “We have pitched a project proposal for 522 youth from 10 villages in the districts of Huye, Gisagara, Nyamagabe, and Rulindo. The project was proposed by communities’ youth starting with mapping opportunities and needs in their neighbourhoods, and we as volunteers helped to shape and design it well. The project is about modern beekeeping with 522 modern beehives. They already have 522 traditional beehives as their contribution,” said Innocent Nsengiyumva, the CorpsAfrica volunteer in Mukura sector, Huye District, who facilitated the youth in designing the project. He mentioned that each of these young people was earning Rwf15,000 monthly from casual jobs, but with the project, each will now earn over Rwf70,000 per month. “This income will increase to Rwf125,000 per month in the second year of the project,” he said, adding that the youth will also gain knowledge about apiculture. The project seeks Rwf54 million of which Rwf19 million will be contributed by youth themselves. “This means the youth owners of the project are seeking Rwf35 million funding to fill in the remaining gap to fully implement the project on two sites in Gisagara District, three sites in Nyamagabe, three sites in Huye and two sites in Rulindo,” he said. Clementine Rahayo, a youth volunteer in Musanze District, said she facilitated the youth to design a project that produces organic manure. “We will be collecting organic waste from different areas to produce organic manure in a modern and professional way. The project will benefit 300 youth in Kampanga cell in Kinigi sector. The project will also create 100 permanent jobs and 200 jobs for casual workers. The whole project needs about Rwf13 million. We are seeking Rwf10 million scale-up financing, in addition to our savings that we have contributed,” she said. Leopord Ngabonziza, a youth volunteer in Gicumbi District, said they designed a project to grow passion fruits on 12 leased hectares which will benefit 400 youth. “Each member could generate over Rwf45,000 a month, get knowledge and skills to expand fruits growing,” he noted. He said they want to expand the project by leasing 22 hectares in the second year and buying five hectares in the third year of the project. “In the next five years we want to start adding value to the fruits and create more jobs for the youth,” he said. Another project to plant trees, and produce planks and furniture by 150 youth in Musanze District, seeks Rwf21 million of which they will contribute 24 per cent. The Musanze-based team has already planted 30,000 seedlings. Gertrude Mutuyimana, a resident of Gicumbi District, is among the needy community members whom youth volunteers supported to initiate a project of purchasing and retailing cereals and legumes. “We proposed the project as community members after mapping problems, needs, and opportunities in our village. Youth volunteers helped us to design the project,” she said. Alexia Mukashema, a resident from Huye District, said the youth volunteers helped redundant youth to design different projects mainly small livestock projects. “They also purchase agricultural produce and retail it. Currently, the 40 youth in our village have four tonnes of beans and seven tonnes of maize in stores. They also save Rwf20,000 every week from different income-generating activities they carry out,” she testified. CorpsAfrica country director, Eustochie Agasaro Sezibera, said the volunteers have been catalysts of change in their communities as they feel part of the communities’ lives throughout their services. “This year we focused on rural communities. There are over 76 volunteers and each helped the community to design at least one project to eradicate poverty among the needy people. Although there is our contribution and contribution from the communities themselves, they need funding to scale up the projects,” she said. She said that there is a need for the growth of local philanthropy culture to finance such high-impact projects to lift vulnerable communities out of poverty in Rwanda. “We have secured appointments with many stakeholders committing to fund such projects. These projects benefit both youth volunteers and communities in various ways. The youth grow professionally. They are university graduates. They get experience and eventually secure jobs. They changed communities’ mind-set to eradicate poverty and reduce school dropouts, and family conflicts among other issues. The communities have already ownership to ensure the sustainability of the projects,” she said. Innocent, Ndahiro, the Ag. Director General of Governance and Decentralisation in the local government ministry commended CorpsAfrica for playing a big role in training youth volunteers to help communities graduate out of poverty. According to the National Strategy for Sustainable Graduation (NSSG), there are key elements that are essential for graduation to achieve sustainable, long-term impact. “We have a strategy to eradicate extreme poverty and CorpsAfrica volunteers are contributing a lot. The initiative is also a nursery for these youth volunteers to become the future leaders,” he noted. CorpsAfrica currently operates in 10 African countries: Morocco, Senegal, Malawi, Rwanda, Ghana and Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Gambia, and Nigeria. It is creating a model of national and Pan-African service and cultivating participatory, collaborative, and accountable community development in Africa. CorpsAfrica started its operation in Rwanda in 2018 and is currently serving eight districts.
