In Rwanda, the youth (people between the ages of 14 and 35) currently make up close to 40% of Rwanda’s population. 

This means that 4 in every 10 Rwandans are youth, and therefore over 4 million Rwandans have the potential to fundamentally change the country’s economy should they be appropriately skilled, energized and willing to embrace the development challenge.

This is why EDPRS II has 1 of its 4 pillars dedicated to the youth in "Productivity and youth Employment”. 

In fact, last Saturday President Kagame met with the youth at the National Stadium where he delineated the role that both the Government and the youth have to play in order to build a stronger foundation for tomorrow’s Rwanda.

Self-driven 

Given the history of Rwanda, the youth are like a double-edged sword. On one side prone to fragility because of their experiences and memories in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, and on the other hand, able to draw immense strength and drive from this past, making them even more committed and invigorated to building a better Rwanda. 

It is this commitment that will drive the youth’s agenda in EDPRS II. As much as the Government has a role to play in achieving the goals, the youth must embrace and drive their own destiny. 

The famous saying "You can take a cow to the well, but you cannot force it to drink” is what we mean here. 

The Government can create all possible opportunities, but it is the youth who must study hard, work hard, and ensure that they maximize and capitalize on these opportunities. The Government has done and is doing a lot to leapfrog the lost years, and now the youth must embrace this challenge in order to keep the momentum going and take Rwanda to middle-income status and beyond.

Entrepreneurship 

Most youth’s dream is to get access to education, and then find a good job. Currently, the Rwandan economy is creating less than 80,000 jobs per year. 

If we compare this to the 125,000 new people entering the job market every year, on top of the back-log from the previous years, we can fully appreciate the magnitude of the job creation challenge. 

Therefore, EDPRS II lays out strategies to create 200,000 off-farm jobs every year to meet the increasing employment demand.

We believe that while Government must ensure the right policies are in place, these goals can only be achieved by creating a vibrant private sector, with a conducive environment for entrepreneurship. 

Large firms can only produce a limited amount of jobs in a developing economy, and this is why "smart entrepreneurship” should not only be encouraged but also nurtured to create lucrative opportunities for the youth. 

Referring back to our analogy in our last article, Rwandans must think of ways to grow tomatoes to make ketchup, instead of tomatoes solely for consumption. This might seem intimidating to some, but we should remember that not all ideas must be entirely new. 

Youth should take advantage of the already existing platforms from the older generations and learn from them. Of course there are no hard and fast rules with entrepreneurship, but there are some old tricks in business that have outlived generations.

It might not seem like the coolest thing to do, but it is definitely a smart thing to do. With more knowledge transfer from one generation to the next, Rwanda could produce several Gerard Sina’s. Entrepreneurship is a must to achieve Rwanda’s aggressive economic transformation to provide a better life and better for all Rwandans.

Market-driven skills 

As the economy and its demand continue to change, Government, in partnership with the youth must ensure that the skills being honed in academic institutions match the labour market demands. 

For example, if Rwanda is striving to create vibrant ICT and manufacturing sectors, this should reflect in the education system to ensure that graduates are well-equipped to capture market opportunities. 

As we have seen in recent Northern African conflicts, frustrated, unemployed but educated youth can become a national nightmare! It is therefore important for the Government and the youth to remain pragmatic and open-minded to non-traditional forms of education such as Technical and Vocational (TVETs); a priority area in EDPRS II youth strategies, accounting for 40% of the new education budget. 

Mindset change 

Unfortunately, several Rwandans look down on technical and vocational training instead of looking at it as a means to an end, while TVET can allow several youth to become more employable, gain financial independence, and even pursue a university degree should they choose to. 

And as we say, we can’t all be leaders we need the ones to get the work done! Rwandans must therefore embrace progressive alternatives to traditional norms if the country is to achieve the desired goal of providing a better life to all Rwandans. 

To wrap it all up, Rwanda has always taken pride in its people being its greatest asset. Among these are the youth who have the greatest potential in any generation, in any country. As the country strives for self-reliance, let us not forget that even "potential has a shelf-life” and the time to maximize youth’s potential is not tomorrow, but today.

Next column will focus on productivity and under-employment. 

Disclaimer: Although the authors are advisers of the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), their opinion is not approbated by RDB and is an independent expression of their views and not those of RDB or any other Government of Rwanda institution.