The Rwanda International Trade Fair 2019 or Expo 2019 will officially open on 22rd July to end on 11th August at Gikondo Expo Grounds.

This annual event is organised by Private Sector Federation (PSF) in partnership with Ministry of Trade and Industry and this year will host 500 exhibitors from 25 Countries according to Eric Kabera, the PSF’s head of Communications and Marketing .

“We will have 500 exhibitors from 25 countries, we have constructed a new Exit route where people will be passing and it will help easing movement of people.

People will be using mobile money to buy Expo tickets and more information and clarification will be announced during the press conference on Thursday.

Another thing special in this exhibition is that Rwandan traders will be networking with foreign traders following their trading categories to exchange views that are important to boost their businesses.
Kabera explains that the Rwanda International Trade Fair has marked a significant impact so far as most of foreign Trade institutions that participated have already opened their branches in Rwanda.
“It has been proven that many of foreign traders have established activities here in Rwanda after seeing that business investment and practice is very easy here,”

PSF has also constructed a new exit route that will help people to avoid the usual crowd at the Expo event Kabera noted. Kabera notes

Recently in March 2019, Rwandan women who were undergoing the needy life situation got material support including Tailoring machines from women in Germany Diaspora.

The community of Rwanda’s women in Germany supported these women in Rwanda to contribute to the development and resilience of the country.

Epiphanie Nyiraseka, the mother of three children is among the beneficiaries. She was assisted to learn tailoring and is now a tailor who is striving for a decent life in this business.

Epiphanie Nyiraseka
“I used to be busy on myself at home but now after joining tailoring school my dream is to be a business woman and I like working together with my colleagues. I recognize the efforts and good heart of women in German community who supported us, we will work hard to prove the results.” Nyiraseka said.

Monique Mukabugingo is a housemaid in Kigali. She was also thinking on how she could have practical skills and her dreams came true when women who live in German approached them.

Monique Mukabugingo stating in tailoring electronic machine

She said she gained a lot in learning tailoring as she can perform in making different styles of clothes.
“Ourselves could not manage to buy a tailoring machine, it is a good initiative of Rwandan women in German Community to give us this significant aid,” she said.

Alice Uwamahoro (photo The Express News )

Alice Uwamahoro, another young girl from Remera Sector, Gasabo District has joined the tailoring school a couple of days in October, 2019. She wishes to gain needed skills and be an entrepreneur.
“I thank these donors, it is a great job they did and I request them to continue with this heart. If possible they can give us more machines to enable us expand tailoring activities in workshops,” she said.

Console Uwangirigira from Kicukiro District is a mother of two Children who also joined the school in April, 2019. She was concentrated in learning the way long in six months.

Console Uwangirigira was finishing six months training and stating her business

“We learnt to make various products including clothes, bags, and more. We started from manure machines and later we applied electric ones. It is a good initiative to think about Rwandan women and we thank the Rwandan women in German community. We can request them to also think how they can further support us as we leave this tailoring school.” Uwangirigira said.

Mukamwiza Director of Kicukiro Women Training Center

Therese Mukamwiza is the Director of Kicukiro Women Training Center said that they helped youth and women to leave various lures including sexuality and street businesses.
The school started in 2014 with the aim to support needy women and youth.
“We only had manual machines and women in German Community gave us electronic ones. These machines enable users to make much money. We teach them in six months and give them a two-month internships then we recruit others. We wish to expand activities by increasing classrooms from 2 to 5. We also continue to follow on finalists, they have will to work but they lack capacity to buy electronic machines,” she said.
Rwandan Women in Germany contributed tailoring machines to this school with the value of Rwf3million.

WHEN an opportunity to visit Rwanda arises, genocide immediately comes to mind.
Rwanda witnessed one of the worst genocide ever when one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus were murdered by the government of Juvénal Habyarimana in 1994.

Genocide was the last straw by the Hutu-led government who attempted to wipe out Tutsis.

Despite the chill that goes down the spinal cord when the thought of travelling to Rwanda comes, it yet becomes a learning point to go and see that country’s rising story.
It is amazing how Rwanda has put behind the genocide to become one of the fastest growing economies in Africa.
Paul Kagame’s inspirational leadership is the reason Rwanda has rebounded from an impoverished nation heading towards a prosperous middle income country.
Kagame and the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) have re-aligned the land-locked East African to a point of a new economic and social policy, focused on strategic investments.
At the core of Kagame’s leadership is the improvement of people’s livelihoods.
President Kagame’s leadership starts from the party which has disciplined cadres as I witnessed myself during the RPF’s international and national congresses.
The discipline I saw in Kigali is the one I am yet to see in my country as the cadres have respect for the party authorities and when it was time for meals, there was no scrambling.
I was also amazed to see how the RPF has branded its regalia. It is the kind any person would want to wear without shame.
The RPF, which has been observing 30 years anniversary, has its own convention centre on the outskirts of the capital, Kigali.
It also has its own anthem which the party members sing during their functions.
If there is anything I admired about the RPF cadres is discipline. The party stuck to the time table of events religiously.

CLEANLINESS

During the short period I spent there last week, I observed how clean the streets of Kigali are.
To see liter in Kigali is a taboo because the Rwandans, under great leader Kagame have disciplined themselves. Maybe it is the reason it is impossible to hear cholera outbreaks there.

The Rwandas have set aside one-day in a month (for three hours) for community work (two hours) and hour to discuss matters arising in their communities.
It is during their meetings when they decide a project to dedicate their time to; either individually or collectively, such as repairing some neighbours houses, visiting nearby clinics or schools to appreciate challenges and brainstorm how to intervene.

SECURITY

The moment you land at Kigali International Airport and approach the check-in counters, you may think it is a police state.
Yes, you will find a police officer on every street in Kigali but that is designed to assure local people and visitors of their safety.
Kigali is one of the safest capital cities in Africa and you do not have to look at your back when walking either in the central business district or elsewhere.
You can walk at night without the slightest fear of being mugged or robbed.

LIGHTING

Kigali’s streets are well lit and there is no loadshedding.
It could be one of the reasons why the Rwandan capital is slowly becoming the symbol of regional integration in Africa.

RWANDAIR

One of the success stories of Rwanda is its growing national airline, RwandAir, which has daily flights into Lusaka.
RwandAir, whose vision is to be the airline of obvious choice in the markets it serves, is promoting the continent’s economic development by facilitating trade and tourism flows in Rwanda and beyond.
The Rwanda government’s strategy to help Africans to cushion travel hurdles to travel and enhance connectivity between different countries on the continent and beyond is paying off.
RwandAir has grown its network to include Conakry (Guinea), Daka (Senegal) and Bamako (Mali) and has added Brussels (Belgium) and Guangzhou (China).

RwandAir has operates two hubs – Kigali and Cotonou in Benin.
The Cotonou hub has given the airline the right to base its operations outside its home base and operate between its seventh freedom base and a third country without returning to its country.
The launch of the Cotonou hubis helping RwandAir take air travel on the continent to the next level as it will be able to reach more countries in West and Central Africa with improved connections and more frequencies by providing air transportation for passengers and goods between and to Abidjan, Brazzaville, Douala, Libreville, Bamako, Dakar and Conakry.
RwandAir will continue its operations from Kigali to Cotonou and provide seamless access to East and Southern Africa, the Middle East and Asia to the joint airline.
This year, the ever growing network started flights to Mumbai, Harare, London (Gatwick) and Brussels apart from Guangzhou with plans to enter the American market with flights to New York, in the United States of America next year.
As Zambia plans to establish a national airline, we may learn from RwandAir.
If there is anything that is captivating about Kigali is its stunning hilly terrain, thus dubbed as the land of a thousand hills.
After my second visit to Rwanda last week (the first being in 2014 for the African Development Bank annual meetings), I have added Kigali to the list of my favourite capital cities in Africa after Lagos (Nigeria) and Addis Ababa (Ethiopia).

The author is editorials editor at the Zambia Daily Mail.

Some people assume that people with disabilities hardly accomplish difficult tasks, thus they are seen as weak people. However, Samuel Niyomugabo, a University of Rwanda student in journalism and communication, will soon be graduating despite being visually impaired.

“People are always mistaken about us. We, the visually impaired, can do tasks just as other people do,” he says.

Niyomugabo lost his sight at the age of three and both his parents at nine. But he appreciates that his family made it possible for him to enroll into school.

“I am tremendously lucky to be born in a family that loved and cared about me so much that they gave me the opportunity to go to school. I know that there is nothing that others can do that I cannot. They go to school and so do I,” Niyomugabo said.

According to Jean Paul Mbonigaba, his teacher in primary school, Niyomugabo was one of the best students whom every teacher wished to teach.

“I knew Samuel when he was a little boy. I could see him coming to school every day in the company of his old grandmother. He was an ambitious and courageous boy in a way that amazed me each time I saw him,” Mbonigaba recalls. “He was a talented and hardworking boy which led to his great performance in class.”

Niyomugabo said, “I discovered that going to school was the only weapon to achieve my goals.”

In addition, he added, “being literate could help me connect with other people, be exposed to the environment and prove wrong those who doubt on our ability.”

He did his secondary studies at HVP Gatagara, a school for students with disabilities.

At his advanced level, Niyomugabo did literature and languages.

One of his dreams is to be a role model to his peers. Moreover, he is keen to encouraging families with disabled children to help them embrace opportunities, including access to education.

Niyomugabo says that he does whatever it takes to fulfill his responsibilities as a student.

“I have software in my computer which I use while studying, doing my assignments as well as exams. But, it’s a challenge when lecturers give unexpected assignments when I don’t have my laptop in class,” Niyomugabo said.

Patrick Niyigena, his classmate, says that he is always astonished by Niyomugabo’s commitment.

“Personally, Samuel surprises me every day. He meets deadlines and arrives on time in class. I am sure that his dedication and discipline will make him a great person regardless of his disability,” Niyigena says.
Severian Havugimana, his uncle, says Niyomugabo has always been an exemplary child since his childhood.

“I saw him growing up, I always wondered how his life would be. I am so proud of my son and believe that he will achieve more in life because he is hard working man,” Havugimana says.

In class, Niyomugabo has never had to repeat a course and will be graduating this academic year. He says he looks forward to establishing an organisation that will “help visually impaired people to rise and shine.”

Registration for this year’s Youth Connekt Africa Summit is on, with the conference scheduled for 8th to 10th of October. Just as the inaugural summit, the second edition is to be hosted in Kigali, Rwanda with a theme of « Connekting Youth for Continental Transformation ».

Last year saw the event, hosted by Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, welcome Jack Ma the Founder and Executive Chairman of Alibaba Group on his maiden visit to Africa. It is during this visit that Ma announced four groundbreaking projects to support young African entrepreneurs.

These projects included: Inviting 200 African young entrepreneurs to work at Alibaba headquarters; Working with Universities and governments to teach Internet technology, Artificial Intelligence and e-commerce; Promoting and supporting Environmental conservation efforts in Africa; As well as investing in the continent’s youth.

He announced that he would be doing so through a $10 million African Young Entrepreneurs Fund.

We are yet to know whether Jack Ma will grace the event yet again, but this year’s edition looks to focus on the role of the youth in the continent’s development as well as curbing the hurdles that youths face today.

These include the lack of trade facilitation; inadequate border infrastructure; limited access to finance; limited market information; corruption & insecurity; and limited knowledge, education & business management skills.

The Youth Connekt Africa Summit is an initiative that unites young entrepreneurs and youth opinion leaders to impact on Africa’s development. The summit aims at patching employment gaps, improving education and skills, reducing gender inequality, and empowering technological innovation.

The inaugural summit attracted « more than 1,500 participants from government, business and investor communities, multinationals, and startups shaping Africa’s technology ecosystem. »

To apply for an invite, you can send an email to yca2018@youthconnektafrica.org