We love to see young entrepreneurs with vision and a passion for finding solutions to problems. the best part is to see them thrive and fulfill their passion. these young Rwandan entrepreneurs are not only creating products that are needed by consumers in the market, but they are also changing lives and assisting other youth from low income families, helping them to fend for themselves and even their families.
Here’s the list of 4 inspiring Rwandan female entrepreneurs you should know.
Gisele Iradukunda
Founder of Radio Gare Project, a company that installs radio speakers in bus stations for the purpose of communicating with commuters. She came up with the idea last year whilst trying to find a way to better support her family and herself.
Iradukunda realized bus companies would pay to use the system to communicate important information to passengers about their service. Other companies can also use it to advertise their products and services to a large number of people while they wait for a bus.
Nancy Sibo
She combined her creative mind with her love for the environment and belief in women’s empowerment. In 2013 she founded Miheha Straw Bags Products, a social enterprise that manufactures a variety of original handcrafted products – such as handbags, earrings and belts – made of recycled plastic drinking straws.
Chantal Butare
She runs a dairy cooperative that gives milk-producing farmers, particularly women, better access to markets. She started the initiative, called Kinazi Dairy Cooperative (KIDACO), in 2012 when she noticed that many farmers where struggling to sell their milk. The cooperative has a particular focus on assisting women genocide survivors.
Today the organisation serves over 3,200 farmers and employs 10 milk collectors to supply both Rwanda and Burundi. Her vision is to help eradicate poverty and hunger among vulnerable people in her community.
Alice Igiraneza
Alice is involved in a number of organisations focused on community development, including the Girls Leaders Forum and the Rwanda Village Concept Project.
She is also the founder of Kiza, a restaurant which provides a selection of healthy food options for students and employees at the university of Rwanda. The aim is to educate others on healthy eating and combat diseases such as diabetes. The restaurant serves about 300 people and provides employment to 20 medical students from the poorest families who are struggling to pay for necessities.
