Today, as we celebrate International Women’s Day, we should take a few moments to not only look back at the gains we have made over the last twenty years but also examine the challenges that still remain.
 |
| Chantal Umutoni Kagame Deputy CEO, Tigo Rwanda |
In
just over two decades, Rwanda has instituted women-friendly laws that have
ensured sexual health, legal autonomy, combated gender-based violence,
protected property and inheritance rights of women and young girls and have
guarantee affirmative action in all areas of government. These huge steps have not only been lauded in
the country but also been celebrated internationally.
To
say that the plight of the Rwandan woman is forever changed is a moot point.
What
we now need as we move forward is to solidify the gains that we’ve made. Financial
inclusion and financial independence are, I believe, by far the best guarantors
of doing just that. When women are able
to meaningfully participate in the economy the knock-on effects are huge.
I
would like to share the story of Annick Musangwineza, one of the thousands of
women Tigo Rwanda has worked with. Seven years ago, the 33-year old Nyarugenge
resident was a simple cloth merchant with a dream of going to university and bettering
herself and her young family. But with
earning slightly over Rwf100, 000 a month, it seemed that that was all a fantasy.
That is, before Tigo Rwanda availed to her a business starter pack worth Rwf
30,000 that consisted of 30 SIM cards in 2009.
From
that small financial injection seven years ago and her own business acumen, she
is now able to earn up to Rwf 800,000 a month in commissions; that money has
allowed her to pay her tuition in ULK, the largest private university in the
country and graduate in the degree in computer science. Not only has she been
able to earn a coveted bachelors degree, she has also been able to buy a new
house and purchase farmland and livestock.
And
while we do not take credit for her success, because that was down to her hard
work and business acumen, our partnership with her played a role in unleashing
her potential.
At
Tigo Rwanda, we believe that women like Musangwineza, who need a bit of support
to unleash their potential, hold the key to ensuring a sustainable future for
the country.
That
is why on 22, February this year at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona,
Spain, Tigo Rwanda became the only telecom in Africa to sign the Connected
Women Commitment Initiative; in it we pledge to increase the number of women
using our mobile financial services and internet services from 39% of all users
today to 45% of users by 2020.
We
understood that unless more women were able to enjoy the advantages of joining
the formal financial system, as well as increasing their use of the tool that
is the Internet, our dream of becoming a middle-income country in a decade or
so would be almost impossible to achieve.
In
addition to the Connected Women Initiative, we are also launching the ‘Tigo
Women Entrepreneurship Fund’ in partnership with the National Women’s Council
today; the Fund will give more than 300 women from around the country startup
capital worth Frw100, 000 to operate their own mobile money businesses.
We
believe that through these initiatives, we shall, in our small way, do our part
in giving opportunities to Rwandan woman to flourish. We are living in an
exciting time in our country’s history and we are extremely proud to be a part
of this change.
I
wish all my fellow women, a very Happy Women’s Day
Chantal Umutoni Kagame is the Deputy Chief
Executive Officer, Tigo Rwanda
No comments:
Post a Comment