Rwanda – Through joint efforts, the FAO, the International Labour Organization (ILO), Rwanda Youth in Agribusiness Forum (RYAF) and youth-led agribusiness JR Farms, organized the Fit for Finance Youth Training in Rwanda. Due to the ongoing pandemic restrictions, the training was held online between May 13 and 27, 2021. It specifically targeted youth agripreneurs, seeking representation from all districts in Rwanda.
The group of 20 young women and 20 young men was selected from over 1000 applications, and included representatives and members from the RYAF youth forum with the aim of ensuring further replication at the district level.
The training was designed as a response to the high number of youth requests received during the 2020 application for the Green Agribusiness Fund, an initiative led by JR Farms and supported by FAO, where youth expressed their interest in how to access finance, while simultaneously struggling with financial literacy. The training was therefore designed to meet the youth agripreneurs where they are by first exploring their level of understanding and interest and then gradually working together through the “Jungle of Finance”. Sessions were initially designed around three main topics: Module 1) Learning how to assess your own financial situation (from expenses to cash flows up to the basics of record keeping); Module 2: Getting familiar with financing options (explaining the financial jargon banks use, the variety of existing products, how to calculate them and the different interest rates); Module 3) How to Navigate Financial Tools aids youth in assessing choice-making options as well as understanding risk management and insurance.
The training aimed to be as practical as possible, shedding light on questions such as “what qualifies me for funding?” or “characteristics that banks are looking for in an applicant”. The presented content was tailored specifically to the financial landscape of Rwanda and included presentations from a variety of external actors, such as different Financial Service Providers and Insurance Providers, as well as innovative youth entrepreneurs to share their inspiring business stories and tips on accessing finance (Roselyne Nyirahategekimana: Hibiscus; Jeanne d’Arc Tuyishimire: Irish potato; Dominique Xavio Imbabazi: Golden Insect).
For youth agripreneurs, the aspect of business formalization is both a significant step to accessing finance and a major challenge. While some youth participants had already taken steps to register their businesses, many were hesitant due to misinformation. In order to support the youth on their entrepreneurial journey and address issues that root in informality, such as low productivity, decent work deficits, or unfair competition from formally registered businesses, FAO and ILO joined forces to develop an additional module on business formalization, that was specifically tailored to the Rwandan context. For this session, Alex Nshimyeimana, the young founder of the avocado agribusiness Sanit Wing and finalist of the Green Agribusiness Fund cohort 2020, was invited to share his journey.
Following the training, participants will further take on an inspirational role for their peers, disseminating the training content in their respective communities. For this purpose, the training was recorded, and training materials is being translated into Kinyarwanda and will soon be made available on the RYAF website.
The presentations of the first three modules of the Fit for Finance training can be accessed at the following links:
- Module 1) Learning how to assess your own financial situation
- Module 2) Getting familiar with financing options
- Module 3) How to navigate financial tools
