HUYE - Research results of a study on what University graduates do upon completing university in Rwanda indicates that only 7 percent venture into entrepreneurship. The research sought to find out what university graduates do when they leave institutions of higher education, how many of them start enterprises or are currently managing them. It was also aimed at finding out how many of them are using technology, other factors of production or innovation and how many of them are actively involved in creating more jobs than going solo and beginning a business. Releasing the findings of the research at the National University of Rwanda on Monday, Mark Maweu Suva, a lecturer in the Faculty of Economics and Management said that only 7 percent of the total entrepreneur society in Rwanda are graduates. The release of the findings coincided with the launch an entrepreneurship week organised by Student’s Association for Graduate Integration in the Private Sector (SAGIPS). “The entrepreneur society is currently driven by those who do not have more than 13 years of formal school schooling- those below university,” said Suva. The research also indicate that the graduates-cum-entrepreneurs mainly venture in agricultural and heavy labour intensive industries while just a few go for innovation which should be the driving force behind entrepreneurship development. Some of the causes of low number of graduate entrepreneurs as cited by Suva include the unclear entrepreneurship policy in the country and the difficulty in accessing financing which he blamed on technical hitches like difficulty in preparing good business plans. “We need to encourage people to attend entrepreneurial training, in any form of schooling even in high schools, people should be exposed to at least a course in entrepreneurship and business management, that way when they get to university and beyond, they will be having an insight of what to do after,” said Suva. The research with a sample size of 290 respondents was carried out in the 4 provinces of the Country and Kigali city. “We need to create any environment where graduates do not have to look at the public service for employment but rather get more rewarding careers in entrepreneurship,” said Professor Martin O’Hara, the NUR vice Rector in charge of academic affairs. Ends
