Rwandan entrepreneurs stand to secure $3,000 in financing, following a four-year initiative launched to “unleash” the potential of youth-led businesses in the country. The youth demographic exceeds 60 per cent of the population. Dubbed Aguka, (translated as scale), the initiative is a brainchild of the Ministry of Youth and Arts, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). According to the Ministry of Youth, the initiative is expected to run until 2026, where selected entrepreneurs will be exposed to support from ideation to business expansion. At the onset, the initiative seeks to directly impact 6,600 youth-led businesses with adequate skills, seed funding and exposure, a move officials believe would create more than 100,000 jobs. The breakdown During the full journey from ideation to pre-incubation, incubation, and post-incubation, the initiative is expected to offer services to youth-led micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, including access to finance, advanced business development training, mentorship, networking, investment, and market linkages. “The goal is for the young entrepreneurs to develop the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the competitive business landscape, and to encourage them to become leaders and innovators in their sectors,” according to a statement from UNDP. The development, according to Rwanda’s minister of youth, Jean Nepo Abdallah Utumatwishima, follows different impactful initiatives that are supporting young entrepreneurs across the country. “The Aguka programme has been launched further to propel the results of existing initiatives such as YouthConnekt and to support the building of a comprehensive spectrum of youth-led enterprise development,” he said. During the launch, Belén Calvo Uyarra, Ambassador of the European Union to Rwanda, said, “Our cooperation will focus on addressing post-incubation gaps, such as a lack of technical, management, and financial support for innovative start-ups. The European Union will continue working together with the Rwandan entrepreneurs’ ecosystem in responding effectively to the high expectations of emerging entrepreneurs”. The initiative also signed partnership agreements with the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), Norrsken and the African Management Institute (AMI). Through its flagship entrepreneurship programme, TEF will empower 1,600 young Rwandans over the next four years. This will include training in entrepreneurship, seed funding for young entrepreneurs, and one-on-one mentorship by experts nationwide. Why it matters Rwandans aged 16-30 years make up around one-third of the country’s population. While youth remain key to the country’s transformational growth, the youth still face several challenges including high levels of unemployment and underemployment (15.7 per cent unemployment rate among young people), as well as low levels of entrepreneurship and skills shortages.
