In the aftermath of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, the Government acknowledged that the nation’s rebuilding and development would only be achieved with women playing a significant role.

Looking at Rwanda’s socio-economic transformation over the years, it is evident that gender equality and women empowerment are at the forefront of the national development strategy.

One of the greatest achievements since 1994 has been transforming the lives of Rwandan women, from being vulnerable victims to becoming leading players in all segments—public and private.

The rise of a business mogul

Before the Genocide against the Tutsi started in 1994, Agnes Mukamushinja was a teacher at a technical school. She shares that enrolling girls in vocational training was the norm at the time, to prepare them for domestic work for when they grew older.

Vocational education at the time involved learning how to cook, tailor, dig, and basically how to take care of the home.

"In my case I was teaching what I was taught so that my students would find jobs,” she says.

Her salary, however, was not enough to cater for her family expenses. It was then that she decided it was time to get a side business that would supplement her income. Mukamushinja was only 22 years old, and her rollercoaster ride into business was just getting started.

"Most of the people working within my home area had to walk long distances back home to have their lunch, and walk back to work. It was then that I decided to set up a small restaurant that sold milk, porridge, potato soup, and bread to supplement my income and cater for my siblings’ tuition and food. I realised recently that I was doing business but at that time, I saw it as something I was doing to supplement my income,” she says.

When the Genocide started, Mukamushinja and her family sought refuge in Byumba, Gicumbi District, where she worked with Red Cross. Thanks to her business experience, upon returning to Kigali in 1995, she set up a bigger restaurant that served five organisations as well individual clients.

Years later, when she was married and had conceived, she closed the restaurant business to avoid straining her body. She soon established a hardware shop, after her maternity break, only to close it a few months later because it was not yielding enough profit.

"My husband who happened to be a pharmacist had set up a successful pharmacy near King Faisal Hospital. After giving birth to three more children, the profits from the pharmacy could not sustain our now large family, which propelled my husband to find a government job while I took care of the business,” she shares.

Turning point

Her turning point came in 1998, when, she says, she experienced firsthand, the government’s efforts to promote women empowerment right from the grassroots level.

"A group of young female vendors from our neighbourhood approached me and asked me to team up with them for a group loan. World Vision, which was just one of the many organisations that gave women loans, gave us a group loan of Rwf15, 000 and we were required to return that money in 3 months.

"This was shared among ourselves which we invested in our business and soon enough, we graduated to Rwf30, 000, Rwf60, 000 and although some members left, we were happy to pay for them because we thought of it as insurance to get us to bigger loans. Within a couple of years, we advanced to Rwf1, 500,000 that every member could afford individual loans. The government was in a drive to empower women economically and we seized the opportunity,” she says.

Advancing to three million, she left World Vision and joined Bank Populaire, now BPR Atlas Mara, where she got a loan of Rwf9 million that she used to develop a pharmacy business, and she opened up another one. She was able to build an eight bedroom house, support her family and orphaned relatives. Despite the growing business, she was inspired to push her entrepreneurial skills further.

"Because the business was now growing at a fast rate, I enrolled in nursing school, and also did a short course in entrepreneurship which equipped me with business and financial management and customer care skills.

"After I fully paid my bank loan, I resorted to getting pharmaceutical supplies on credit, from distribution companies. Shortly after, Nova Pharmacy was rated among the top five pharmacies in the country,” she says.

As taught during some of the trainings she happened to attend, she trained her employees to manage the business once it reached its peak so that they can carry it on. Five years on, Nova Pharmacy is directly run by the employees.

Coffee business

Mukamushinja and her husband both have a family history of coffee production, which inspired them to join the coffee business.

"My father was an agronomist who loved coffee a lot and influenced coffee growing in our home area. He taught us everything about coffee that we needed to know and instilled the passion for it in us. When the Genocide happened, however, coffee lost value as Rwandans sought survival.

"When my husband set up Nova Coffee in 2003, I decided to step in, in 2005.  All the things I learned through experience and in my entrepreneurship class showed that there were some loopholes in the coffee business, and I realised that I needed to reawaken my passion for coffee and contribute to its economic growth,” she says.

The proud owner and managing director of Nova Coffee reveals that with just a few bags of coffee and half a container, today produces eight containers of coffee. Upon realisation that women were very influential in the coffee chain process, however, she felt the need to empower them and established a cooperative to boost financial confidence and is hopeful that they will gain from their hard work.

Teaming up with other entrepreneurs

Before joining the coffee business, Mukamushinja joined the Rwanda Private Sector Federation (PSF) to learn from other entrepreneurs and her active participation won her an election as vice president of PSF, Kicukiro District.

"Being a passionate entrepreneur motivates one to learn more and partner with other individuals as well as the government, this goes across all sectors.

"All the developments that we do as members of PSF, for me, felt like we were joining hands with the government. Good leadership motivates others to rise and work together,” she says.

She was also elected a member of the advisory board of PSF, Chamber of Women Entrepreneurs.

"Networking, for me, is better than money because it exposes one to bigger ideas and grows your business. The chamber advocates for us at all levels and has given us exposure to different business ideas. It has connected us to different businesswomen, thanks to the good leadership of the current government that has provided us with all these opportunities,” she says.

Mukamushinja’s journey has taught her that women can do all things, from leadership to raising a family.

"Women should not just relax and wait for men to take up positions because they can. I would advise them to join business to support their families, their communities and the country,” she says.

editorial@newtimesrwanda.com