When I visited their training class at Indego Africa in Kacyiru, the women from different co-operatives around the city were oblivious of my presence as they listened attentively to their computer and English language trainers. 

The training by facilitators from Indego Africa, a nonprofit social enterprise, seeks to empower the women with skills to better run their businesses and improve their living standards. The organization has helped women like Emerienne Nyiramana, a resident of Kicukiro District and a Primary Six dropout, to find their footing in the entrepreneurship world.

Though Nyiramana, who dropped out of school over 20 years ago, could not achieve her childhood dream of becoming a teacher, she has used skills acquired from Indego Africa training programmes to improve her life and support fellow women.

"I dropped out of school when I was going to start secondary school education. Though I tried out different things to earn money, nothing seemed to work for me,” she says.

Nyiramana says later, she decided to enroll for a tailoring course in 2005 to improve her livelihood following previous failed attempts.

After the course, Nyiramana says she joined COCOKI co-operative in 2007. This was to be her turning point.

"When we started working together, I was happy because I knew that one day I will become a tailoring tutor and fulfill my dream,” she says.

But challenges, such as lack of accounting skills, and business management and lack of market for the group’s products, as well as the fact that most of the co-operative members were all illiterate, affected her efforts.

However, luck was on her side as Indego Africa was ready to partner with and equip the women with various skills, like business management, English classes and using computers.

The partnership has proved pivotal for the group and others in Kigali and different parts of the country as the skills acquired from the many training programmes have helped them operate profitably and search better markets for their products.

"We are now able to balance our books using spread sheets on computers. Filing tax returns and business records is now easy, thanks to the bookkeeping and accounting acquired from the training,” she says. She adds that now she is the group’s treasurer and co-ordinate’s the co-operative’s marketing strategy, linking them to the market.

The co-operative makes men and women clothes, earrings, notebook covers, men’s ties and bowties, necklaces, bangles, handbags, and laptop bags, which they sell in Kigali and abroad. Other products are sold from Ikaze showroom in Kicukiro. The group is made of about 200 women artisans.

Nyiramana says they used to earn about Rwf20,000 before, but their earnings have since risen to between Rwf50,000 and Rwf100,000 each, after deducting 10 per cent savings. Nyiramana’s fortunes continued to increase and she was selected to go to the US for training to improve her competencies.

She says she is now a trainer for various women co-operatives, and has set up her own tailoring workshop, where she employs two workers.

Beata Uwamwiza, one of the other member of the co-operative, have been able to enhance their living standards, thanks to the organisation’s intervention. Uwamwiza says she started tailoring in 2004 and joined the co-operative four years later in 2008. Uwamwiza says the co-operative has attracted more clients since they were able to improve product quality and provide good customer service. This, she adds, has greatly boosted their savings, noting that with new skills, the group’s activities are now done faster and efficiently. "We have embraced the savings culture and no longer use manual accounting since we are now computer literate,” she says.

"I have managed to educate my five children, three of whom have completed secondary school, while the two are going to join Senior Six this term,” she adds.

Uwamwiza says, she pays over Rwf55,000 per term for the three children attending public school, while she parts with Rwf120,000 per term for those in private school. "I have been able to afford this because now I can make better products that sale at good prices… I am planning to build a permanent residential house using savings from my tailoring job,” she says.

Aisha Niyotwagira from Ububoshyibwa Gaseke co-operative says she has been able to save, thanks to improved earnings. She says the group sells some of the products to international buyers with the help of Indego Africa, which links them to outside markets. "I have joined a SACCO and saved some money from which I have bought four small pieces of lands, where I grow cassava,” Niyotwagira says.

Challenges

The women artisans have made significant gains over the past few years. However, they still face numerous challenges, like lack of raw materials, which are holding back their progress. "We lack raw materials like ‘inshinge’ (a grass species used to make baskets)… we buy the materials we use currently from Northern Province, which is costly,” Nyiramana says.

Indego Africa also trains the women in other skills, including business management, leadership, marketing, as well as communication skills and customer care. The organisation works with 30 women artisan groups involved in handicraft making to help them improve their skills and hence their operations and products. They believe a business-driven approach is essential to African women’s empowerment.