Small-and-medium enterprise operators (SMEs) have reason to smile following the signing of a deal between Educat and GT Bank to train and support them.

Under the one-year contract, Educat, an entrepreneurship support not-for-profit organisation, and GT Bank will identify and train upcoming business people to equip them with better skills to grow their enterprises. 

GT Bank will also fund a start-up competition run by Educat, which will give promising entrepreneurs the chance to actualise their business aspirations, Andreas Norlem Christensen, the Educat chief executive officer, explained at the signing ceremony on Friday.

"This partnership will enable all the stakeholders to share innovative business ideas that we believe are beneficial to young entrepreneurs,” he said.

Muralidhar Anantapur, the director of business support at GT Bank, said the deal will improve management and growth of SMEs.

Johanne Møller, a communications consultant at Educat, said traders would be trained under the Rwanda Business Accelerator, a comprehensive six-month programme that aims at helping SMEs improve business operations, as well as deliver better products and services that will yield long-term customer retention opportunities. 

Last year, GT Bank (formerly FinaBank) sponsored the Real FinaBank Young Entrepreneurship Awards also organised by Educat. The organisation and its partners, including Rwanda Development Board, Airtel Rwanda and KLM, will today kick-start the Rwanda Entrepreneurship Caravan that aims at promoting entrepreneurship and innovation among students. 

The drive will feature a three-day Rwanda Entrepreneurship Mindset training (REM) and entrepreneurship competition.