A competition initiated by Imbuto Foundation and aimed at sensitizing the youth to come up with the best innovative ideas at their workplace ended yesterday.

The top three performers were awarded with a certificate accompanied with some money to help them realize their innovations.

Imbuto Foundation is the First Lady Jeannette Kagame’s initiative that seeks to empower young Rwandan professionals who aspire to succeed and contribute to the creation of prosperity in Rwanda.

In October last year, the foundation initiated ‘Innovations in the Workplace’ competition that targeted all young Rwandan professionals who are graduates aged between 21and 35 years.

Ambrose Rutarama, an intern doctor at Kanombe Military hospital was the overall winner. He took home a cash prize of USD 6000. His winning proposal was on cherishing prosperity through enhancing good service delivery at Kanombe hospital

The first runner-up was Pascal Mugisha. He received USD 5000 for his proposal of developing a website called Igisubizo Project that would avail young Rwandans with professional opportunities across the country.

Eddie Baraba and Arthur Byamugisha received the third prize of USD 4000 for their proposal on increasing productivity through developing handbooks. 

The competition was about the design and adoption of new practices, new structures, new relationships and ideas in the development of products and services as well as operations and processes.

Meanwhile, the sixth series of Imbuto foundation dubbed, towards a dignified generation, was concluded by the foundation’s vice president of the board, Diana Ofwana. 

Ofwana said; "The Imbuto Foundation is sowing seeds of leadership and excellence among our youth, nurturing a generation that would be judged not within the narrow confines of social affiliation or geographical boundaries, but by their spirit of innovation, their drive for entrepreneurship, the culture of discipline and dignity.”

She noted that what separates the rich from the poor is not money but the mindset.

"The road block to prosperity is ourselves not believing that we can actually do it. Poverty is the other side of dignity.

We need to unleash new energies for positive change in our communities and understand the dynamics of yesterday as much as we need to master the challenges of today, then re-digest and reinvent them into a new developed product,” said Ofwana.

The function was attended by several local leaders from across the country, cabinet ministers, permanent secretaries and young professionals and entrepreneurs from the private sector.

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