Muhanga residents are set to benefit from a business incubation centre established by students and lecturers from the Institut Catholique de Kabgayi (ICK).

Dubbed the Business Incubation Centre of Kabgayi (BIKA), the facility will help residents, particularly farmers, to develop, nurture and implement entrepreneurial projects, according to Prof. Bikoro Munyanganizi, the centre’s director.

The centre, which was officially opened on Wednesday, provides a framework for reflections and field activities and is an excellent platform for knowledge transfer and exploitation of research findings, the official said.

Prof. Munyanganizi told The New Times that BIKA will serve as a meeting point for area residents, students and academics who will come together to share ideas on projects that might help speed up local development.

"It will be a forum to develop ideas, exploit the existing skills, develop tools and facilitate the transfer of knowledge that can help transform people’s lives,” Munyanganizi said.

He said the idea to establish the centre arose from research conducted in two villages of Muhanga District which revealed a wide gap in skills transfer and high levels of poverty due to failure to exploit local opportunities.

"We have skilled economists, sociologists, communicators, development experts and many more experts and we believe they can play a part in transforming the lives of residents,” he said.

The centre started with a programme to add value to several agricultural products, including a variety of fruits, vegetables and grains, that are processed and transformed to make a chain of new value-added products, allowing for longer storage periods and better prices.

The machines being used to process the products are locally made, something Munyanganizi says is proof that there are lots of dormant skills the centre will tap into.

A cooperative comprising residents is set to be created in order to facilitate the centre’s activities and improve on its efficiency, Munyanganizi said.

Already dubbed; "Korana Ubuhanga Utsinde Ubukene (KORUBU)” (literary meaning use knowledge and innovation to alleviate poverty), the coop will operate a chain of activities from food production to processing and sale of processed products.

The manufacture of equipment, including machinery is among the centre’s top priorities, prof. Munyanganizi said.

"We hope this centre will spur innovation while at the same time it will contribute to improving the welfare of Rwandans,” the former minister of state for energy and water said.

Father Vincent Kagabo, the university rector, said the centre aims at showing residents some of the things in their midst that can help improve their lives.

The Southern Province Governor, Alphonse Munyantwari, commended the centre, saying it is a chance to improve people’s lives.

"This centre offers an opportunity to exploit our skills, knowledge and the many opportunities surrounding us,” Munyantwari said.

"We believe it will contribute significantly toward the improvement of our people’s socio-economic lives.”

Meanwhile, the Muhanga-based learning institution this week graduated about 185 students in a colourful ceremony that brought together graduates, parents, families, academics and leaders.

The students graduated with degrees in journalism, communication, development studies, management and sociology, among others.

They were advised to put the skills acquired to the benefit of the entire community.