Accelerate young Rwandan entrepreneurs

Dear Friends,

Thank you for your support of AEC's work in Rwanda. To date, we have served more than 200 young entrepreneurs throughout the country, and we are growing.

Beginning last month, we expanded our support to include refugee entrepreneurs. At present, there are 150,000 refugees in Rwanda, about 60% are living in camps, while the other 40% are spread throughout urban areas nationwide. Some have been here for more than 20 years due to continuing violence in Eastern Congo, the others have been in Rwanda for less than 18 months because of political insecurity in Burundi. For both, no one knows when it will be safe to return home.

At AEC, we were moved to act by the global refugee crisis. With the invitation of the UN High Commission on Refugees to develop a new livelihoods strategy for refugees in Rwanda, we identified a new opportunity to make a real impact.

In a few short weeks, we idenfitied over 400 people that we will work with, and have already started engaging them in meaningful support of turning their business ideas into actual companies. In our first trainings, there were moms with infants in the classroom. In our second session, we were already helping them develop plans for running small shops, distributing soap, and building out a vision with the “lean business model canvass.” 

We have a lot more to accomplish, and we are committed to sharing the learning with you and other partners as we continue this path. After all, without your support, this program and its impact wouldn’t have materialized.

Thank you so much for your belief in AEC and our entrepreneurs,

Julienne Oyler