A cross section of women from different professional backgrounds is meeting at Lemigo Hotel for a two day training in financial freedom organised by ‘New Faces New Voices’ Rwanda Chapter (NFNV), a Pan-African advocacy group that focuses on expanding the role and influence of women in the financial sector.

The two-day training is facilitated by Centonomy, a company that trains individuals and corporations on various aspects of personal finance that are in line with their financial goals with the aim of leading them to financial freedom.

The training will reach out to participants who are grouped in six categories; those with lower income, members of cooperatives, informal micro enterprise owners, young emerging entrepreneurs, junior and mid-level professionals, senior professionals and even established entrepreneurs.

According to the training facilitator and Director of Centonomy, Waceke Nduati Omanga, the training was designed for aspiring entrepreneurs and addresses the knowledge-gap between theoretical knowledge of business and what it practically takes to run a successful business enterprise.

In her remarks, the chairperson of NFNV Rwandan chapter, Dr Monique Nsanzabaganwa, said that their aim was not to empower men or women, but to empower families. 

She added that they sought to bring together Rwandan women because they are ambitious, trusted and respected, which are strong indicators that together they can achieve more and create their own wealth.

"We want to make a big impact on investment opportunities in Rwanda as well as in people’s lives. We hold these trainings so that the trainees can impact other women. We hope that since NFNV is a public company, people will able to buy shares and invest in various areas that can benefit our children as well as the country,” she said.

Nsanzabaganwa also said that they aim to have 300,000 members, of which the majority will be women in rural areas.

"We want to involve most rural women because we all face the same problems when it comes to financial matters. Secondly, most of them are involved in farming which is a sector that we look to tap into. So, we hope to sell like 7000 shares, but have majority of them bought by rural women,” she added.

According to participants, many of them are attending this training expecting to gain immense knowledge in matters of financial discipline, saving and investing. Young, junior and established entrepreneurs are also anxious to gain insights into how to handle their finances as well as how to make informed investment decisions.

One of the participants, Shivon Byamukama, Bank of Kigali’s Company Secretary said: "The training will highlight issues regarding financial discipline. How I spend my salary, how much I spend on my lifestyle and also ask myself if am investing for the future. So, we need to be educated on these matters because as mothers, we play the first role in educating the future generation”.

Eve Tushabe, an entrepreneur says that such trainings help to gain and improve general business skills, learn from other people’s experiences, create valuable networks and strategic partners.

"Since starting my own business, I’ve gained more experience in sectors like accounting and balancing books, marketing and knowing that business is all about people. With such trainings, the more you network and find partners, the more you develop yourself towards financial freedom,” she said. 

NFNV was founded by former South African first lady, Graca Machel and focuses on expanding the role and influence of women in the financial sector.

The initiative was launched in June and is present in 15 African countries. It focuses on increasing women’s access to finance and a variety of financial products; build the capacity and skills of women entrepreneurs and fast-track the number of women in leadership positions in the financial sector.