African Management Institute and Rwanda ICT Chamber offer business training to 2,000 tech entrepreneurs
The African Management Institute (AMI) and the Rwanda ICT Chamber have signed a one year agreement to provide business training to entrepreneurs in the ICT sector to reinforce their skills and boost women’s participation in the sector. The partnership aims to reach more than 2,000 i-workers (i.e. internet workers who include digital services agents, freelancers, digital ambassadors and gig/platform workers). This is geared to help small businesses tackle the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and equip them with the skills, tools and strategies to manage risk and identify new opportunities for growth.
The African Management Institute will offer its sponsored virtual Business Survival Bootcamp in English and Kinyarwanda to tech entrepreneurs across the country and enable them to access AMI’s online learning platform. Through the programme, entrepreneurs learn about risk assessment, scenario planning, cash flow forecasting and other skills to support their business to grow and thrive.
To date, 114 entrepreneurs have already benefited from AMI’s sponsored programme in partnership with the ICT Chamber and completed AMI’s Business Survival Bootcamp programme. Members of the ICT Chamber are encouraged to apply directly through.
Yvette Uwimpaye, founder of the online store Murukali Market Smart, is looking forward to the upcoming training: “The pandemic affected my business both positively and negatively. We had more customers ordering online, however they were buying fresh products such as perishable food. It was hard to keep up with the demand due to movement restrictions. This impacted our operations and caused us to lose customers and revenue. I’m excited to take part in the
Business Survival Bootcamp because I want to recover losses and make my e-commerce business more profitable,” she said.
AMI Country Director, Malik Shaffy, commented: “This partnership is unique because it will also increase the number of women thriving in Rwanda’s digital economy. As we boost women’s participation in our programmes, I encourage all tech entrepreneurs to visit our website and apply for the Business Survival Bootcamp to gain the skills and network that will help your business to grow.”
Rwanda ICT Chamber CEO, Alex Ntare, shared how the sector will benefit from the partnership: “ Over the years we have seen a growing number of women owned or co-founded technology and ICT enabled businesses, this partnership with AMI has already raised interest among our members especially those participating in the IHUZO digital commerce
project, the content in the programmes is very relevant to all sizes of businesses especially those affected by COVID-19 and who want to digitalize”