Youth have been urged to embrace entrepreneurship to avoid being job seekers. The call was made during a conference on fostering entrepreneurship and innovation among the youth in Rwanda for social and economic development on Friday. Geoffrey Rwabukumba, a student at University of Kigali (UoK) said the biggest challenge facing the youth was getting capital. “We have enough skills to develop and implement a business plan but it is not easy to get funding. Besides, most youth do not have collateral to secure bank loans”, Rwabukumba said. However, Moses Asiimwe, a graduate from the College of Business and Economics, said financing was not a means to an end. “What is needed first to start a business is not money. Before thinking about money, one should have a passion for being an entrepreneur and determination. Basing on my experience, having determination can help secure funds,” Asiimwe said. Henry Umunakwe, the president of AISEC (an international youth organisation that provides a platform for young people across the world to explore and develop leadership, entrepreneurship and management through leadership model and international internship programme) Rwanda, urged the youth to be proactive and consider every job as a starting point for opening a business. “Even the major businesses we have today started as micro businesses with less start-up capital. For instance, while in college, you can start by taking up photography. If you are determined, I believe after four years you can be able to open a small business of your own instead of looking for a job,” he said. Dr Papias Musafiri, the Principal of the College of Business and Economics at the University of Rwanda, said the problem of unemployment was a cross-cutting issue that needed to be handled gradually. “I believe that at the heart of every successful venture there is an entrepreneur whose knowledge, skills and imagination give constant rise to an innovative idea. What we really have to do is to change the mindset of our youths so that they can think of being job creators instead of seekers,” Dr Musafiri said. Prof Robert Lensink, Professor of Finance and Economic Markets at University of Groningen, said they were collaborating with the College of Business to empower Rwandan youth. “Addressing youth unemployment is very important. We are combining both skills development with better financial access by linking them with financial institutions. It is better to equip youth with enough skills to shun cases of those who open businesses and see them collapsing after a few months,” Lensink said. Gilbert Agaba, Labor Export and Skills Exchange Specialist at the Ministry of Labor and Public Service said through the National Employment Programme (NEP), the government will buy equipment for those who might otherwise find them expensive and will provide start up tool kits for those finishing short training courses to boost youth employment through business incubation centers spread in every district. “Besides, two business development advisors were hired at every sector to help the youth elaborate their projects,” he added. According to the fourth Rwanda Population and Housing Census (RPHC4) conducted in 2012, unemployment rate in Rwanda stands at 3.4 per cent in general with the majority affected being aged between 16 and 35 while it stands at 7.7 in Urban areas.
