MTN Rwandacell Plc (MTN Rwanda) awards women-led saving groups during the 5th annual Connect Women in Business (CWiB) initiative in partnership with the National Women’s Council (NWC), Africa Evangelistic Enterprise Rwanda (AEE Rwanda), and the National Union of Disability Organizations in Rwanda (NUDOR). This initiative, which commenced in 2019, has supported more than 1,109 beneficiaries so far, both financially and through business acumen training.

In line with the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion’s priority of gender equality and empowering women, MTN Connect Women in Business aims to empower women in their respective projects, growing them to a cooperative level, allowing them to further improve their quality of life.

The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion, Mireille Batamuliza, highlighted during the gala dinner, "Empowering a woman does not only contribute to her own wealth, but to her family wellbeing and prosperity. We thank MTN for believing in these women, and in the work to increase their knowledge, their confidence as well as their financials.”

Eighty saving groups from each province across the nation, with twenty saving groups in the categories of Agriculture, Art, Digital, and Special Category (consisting of women with disabilities and refugees), were visited and assessed. Out of the eighty saving groups, thirty-two saving group finalists were selected to travel to Kigali for training and awarding. This phase of identifying the savings groups was supported by our partners AEE Rwanda, a local Christian NGO dedicated to working with families to eradicate poverty, and NUDOR, the umbrella organization that exists to strengthen the voice of persons with disabilities in Rwanda.

Following the selection of the finalists in each category, the saving groups arrived in Kigali on 25 March and underwent the second phase of the competition, where judges from MTN Rwanda, the National Women’s Council, and NUDOR assessed them and selected the top three (3) winners from each category. A winner from each of the four (4) categories was announced, as well as an overall winner who won the grand prize of Three Million Rwandan Francs (Rwf 3 million).

Kamanzi Jackline, National Women’s Council Executive Secretary, expressed, "We thank MTN for the ongoing partnership to promote and empower women organised groups and their families. This being our fifth season of awarding the best women competitive businesses across the country, NWC is very happy to partner with MTN and AEE as we take more bigger steps together.”

The thirty-two saving groups underwent a Master Class in the areas of Taxes, General Legal Matters, Digital Marketing, Saving Schemes, and Conflict Resolution, which will aid in growing their businesses with the aim of creating wealth.

Mapula Bodibe, MTN Rwanda Chief Executive Officer, congratulated the women-led saving groups, saying, "We are proud of this year’s saving groups that participated in MTN Connect Women in Business. The past five years of this initiative have introduced us to phenomenal women who are uplifting their families and consequently impacting their communities positively in various sectors. These women are truly inspiring, never settling for less.”

She added, "In line with this year's International Women's Day theme, 'Inspiring Inclusion,' we celebrate the diversity and resilience of these women entrepreneurs. As they travel back to their respective regions, I know that they will continue to be impactful. I urge them to pass on the learnings from the master classes and continue to uplift the girl child.”