A Danish organization, Educat, in partnership with the Social Security Fund of Rwanda (SSFR), have launched the Rwanda Institute of Leadership and Entrepreneurship (RILE) as a higher institution learning to offer courses in entrepreneurship

The project was unveiled yesterday in Kigali at a roundtable meeting with stakeholders.

The US$18m (Rwf10 bn) project is expected to be completed in 2012 and the school will be built at Kinyinya, a Kigali suburb where (SSFR) has provided land.

According to the Executive Director of Educat Rwanda, Andreas Nørlem, RILE will be offering  a two-year educational Diploma Programme that will help educate Rwandan Entrepreneurs.

The school will also be offering short term training programmes to ensure continuing personal development and will also include programmes for entrepreneurs in the informal sector who have little prior educational experiences.

Speaking on behalf of the Minister of Education, the Director General for Science, Technology and Research, Dr. Marie-Christine Gasingirwa, said that the school’s ambition is in line with the country’s vision 2020 and EDPRS of developing human capital.

"This is an education which will help people get practical solutions to problems that our country faces,”
She also highlighted the need to develop people who can think innovatively and be able to create employment for themselves and other Rwandans.

Nørlem says that the institute has been designed in such a way that students will be able to meet and interact with successful business people to draw inspiration from them since there will be hotel facilities which will attract business people at the campus.

The Division Manager - Skills Development - at Rwanda Development Board (RDB), Apollo Munanura, believes that the institute will help fill the skills gap which exists across all sectors in Rwanda.

He called for strong partnership between the stakeholders to make the project successful since entrepreneurship has been identified as one area of interest that can help the country grow.

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