Over 90 informal businesses, run by women in Kigali will never be same again, thanks to the business and customer care skills the owners acquired at a recent training.

The three-day training conducted by Frontiers Adventures Great Lakes, a local development and social enterprise, seeks to enhance the women’s capacity to operate businesses profitably in order to contribute to national development.

"We want them to understand the importance of customer care besides strengthening their business management skills so that they are able to grow their enterprises and access to finance,” Jean Claude Munyaneza, the skills and development officer at Rwanda Development Board, said.

The women were also trained in marketing, advocacy, leadership skills and networking techniques to enhance their performance and run enterprises sustainably.

Monica Ssanyu, the chairperson of the Rwanda Chamber of Women Entrepreneurs, said the training was also aimed helping the women in the informal business sector to be innovative, and also develop other soft skills needed in the fast-changing business world.

"This will make them more competitive in the male-dominated business world. It will also help in job-creation and improve household incomes,” Ssanyu added. She added that women should be well-equipped to ably run businesses, especially those operating small businesses.

Mobilising and advocating for women entrepreneurs to establish common projects such as collective marketing and bulk buying is critical for women in business, Donatien Mungwarareba, the director of member services, capacity building and entrepreneurship promotion at the Private Sector Federation, noted.