While setting up her bakery in 2016, Alice Ingabire was pushed by her vision to support women street vendors to venture into more stable and sustained income-generating activities. The Family Pride Bakery in Niboye Sector, Kicukiro District employs seven staff involved in the production of cakes, bread, and other pastries, as well as the sales and distribution component of the business. “I decided to start something that could not only give me the financial independence that I needed but also help me create jobs and train other women and girls,” the mother of five said. With the profit she makes through this business, Ingabire has been able to support about 700 women in rural areas in terms of creating income-generating activities and going through the process of mindset change, which she finds to be an essential part of the transformation they need. When Covid-19 hit, just like many other businesses, her bakery company struggled to get back on its feet but she pushed through until she came across BK Urumuri Initiative. Bank of Kigali partnered with Inkomoko to support 25 innovative entrepreneurs selected out of a pool of applicants to gain access to six months of training, consultancy and business assessment as well as stand a chance to get zero-interest loans from Bank of Kigali for their business development. She finds the training to be helpful as it takes one through the entrepreneurship journey on how to run a business smoothly. “It gives you a one-on-one coaching team that helps you to assess what you do and shape yourself for where you want to be,” she added. Ingabire explained that she and her team started to apply the finance techniques she learned as well as use digital platforms to boost their visibility. “In the long run, I think I will benefit more from the BK Urumuri initiative as at times it opens our eyes to further look for more opportunities to grow,” Ingabire cited. Running under the sixth edition, the BK Urumuri Initiative has so far supported up to 130 entrepreneurs in the past editions. The selected businesses are from a wide range of sectors including manufacturers, agribusiness, fashion, and tourism industries among others.
