IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has increased its support for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Rwanda by officially launching an online training program and a business solutions center that will help businessmen and women in the country develop new skills.

Rwandan entrepreneurs will benefit from IFC’s SME Toolkit, an online, interactive program that uses the latest communication technologies to help smaller businesses learn sustainable management practices.

The SME Toolkit was developed in partnership with IBM.

Business Edge, a complimentary product, offers guidance in a range of topics, including marketing, Human Resource Management, Finance and accounting, General and Operations Management and personal productivity.

The MAXINET Center for Business Solutions, the first of its kind in Rwanda, will offer a complete package of business incubation facilities, access to business information and will help smaller businesses access finance.

The center is a partnership between IFC, MAXINET, and Raizcorp, a South African based company that provides business development services to smaller businesses across Africa.

"We are pleased to bring Business Edge and the SME Toolkit to the Rwandan market to support the growth of smaller businesses in the country.

Supporting smaller businesses is a major focus of IFC’s work in Africa and a stronger small business sector in Rwanda will help create employment and support growth in the country,” said Dorothy Berry, IFC Vice President of Human Resources, Communications, and Administration.

These new products and services were launched by IFC’s Rwanda Entrepreneurship Development Program (REDP), a two-year, $2.4 million imitative to support the growth of smaller businesses in Rwanda with training and tools to bridge entrepreneurship development skills gaps.

REDP, which is supported by Japan, Netherlands, and Wallonia (Belgium), is also working to develop a private market for smaller business training services.

IFC also honored the first 25 Rwandan businesses that have completed training in business planning using the SME Toolkit. The businesses were trained under an arrangement with Access Bank, which covered part of the cost for their training.

"IFC’s SME Toolkit has revolutionized my business practices...I was able to use the knowledge I acquired in the training to develop, interpret and review my own business plan.

I can also now manage and control my work to reach my goals announced,” Solange Uwingabiye, the managing director of Top One Conduct, a distributor for Rwandatel who took part in the training said.

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