There are multiple opportunities within Rwanda’s tourism and hospitality sector, whether you’re a young job seeker, employee with some experience in the sector, a manager looking to upgrade your skills and grow within your role, or a small business owner wanting your business to thrive.
Depending on where you’re starting from, you can choose your own journey to learn about the various opportunities within this sector and interact with various Hanga Ahazaza partners who will support you along the way.
To explore what the Hanga Ahazaza initiative has to offer through the eyes of Uwase, Keza, Shyaka, and Mutoni, click on each name in the menu to the left of the screen.
Find out more about applying to our Hanga Ahazaza initiative.
Uwase graduated university specializing in finance, but she cannot find a job. She learned that there may be work opportunities in the tourism and hospitality sector but she lacks relevant experience.
Harambee helps Uwase with resume improvement, interview practice and employment and training opportunities.
After she receives support from Harambee to spruce up her resume, she’s able to secure an interview and entry-level job at a bank
Uwase learns practical skills from Vatel Rwanda’s online course and lands an entry-level job in tourism. From there, Uwase lands a job at a high-end restaurant, gains experience, moves up to supervisor.
Uwase enrolls in online managerial training at Cornell SC Johnson College of Business or AMI. She applies her new skills to her job and moves up to a top managerial position.
Uwase enrolls in barista training with Question Coffee, receives national and international certification. She becomes a barista at an international hotel.
Uwase enrolls in online/in-person managerial training at Cornell SC Johnson College of Business or AMI. She applies her new skills to her job and moves up to a top managerial position.
Keza just gradated from high school and cannot afford university. She wants a job right away to support herself and her family but has no prior work experience.
Harambee helps Keza with resume-writing, interview practice, and employment and training opportunities.
Keza enrolls in Vatel Rwanda’s Bachelor’s Degree in International Hotel Management and lands an entry-level job at a five-star hotel serving front desk customers.
Vatel Rwanda’s International Hotel Management Degree can lead to supervisory-level promotions.
Keza enrolls in a Question Coffee barista training course. She becomes a barista at a cafe and bakery.
Shyaka has worked as a hotel restaurant supervisor for the past three years. He wants to move up but lacks formal training.
Harambee connects Shyaka to skill-expanding training opportunities.
Shyaka enrolls in an AMI program with online or in-person courses, applies new skills.
Shakaya’s boss rewards his performance
with a raise and more responsibilities.
Shyaka changes course and applies to Question Coffee to become a nationally and
internationally certified barista. He finds a job at a 5-star hotel as a barista.
Vatel Rwanda does an assessment of Shyaka’s current knowledge and skills in the tourism and hospitality sector and provides him with a certificate or a short training course. Shakaya’s boss rewards his performance with a raise and more responsibilities.
Shyaka enrolls in online courses with Cornell SC Johnson College of Business while working full time. He applies his new skills to his job and Shakaya’s boss rewards his performance with a promotion.
Through Hanga Ahazaza, Cornell’s online training can
accommodate work schedules
and time zones.
Mutoni owns a small tour company with three young women employees and a goal to attract more clients, hire more staff, and better manage finances. She has no formal business training, nor a business licence in order to apply for a loan.
Mutoni learns about Hanga Ahazaza and seeks business support services to grow her business.
Inkomoko provides Mutoni with support at a reduced rate, helping her get a
license and working with her to improve
capacity and skills for eight months.
Mutoni has a thriving business with 10 to 15 employees and rave client reviews.
Inkomoko supports 270 tourism and hospitality businesses and is expecting 2,970 new jobs in the next 3 years.
Mutoni enrolls in AMI’s six-month business development support program for young entrepreneurs.
Mutoni has a thriving business with 10 to 15 employees and rave client reviews.
Improved access to financial tools, development support and coaching can help small businesses grow and create new jobs.
Harambee will identify, screen and test a network of 100,000 young people and place 25,000 into training and employment opportunities. Harambee will work closely with other Hanga Ahazaza partners and local employers to ensure effective matching and attribute testing.
AMI will provide supervisors and aspiring supervisors in the tourism and hospitality sector with hands-on management and leadership skills training. AMI will also support entrepreneurs in this sector to drive growth in their businesses and create employment opportunities.
Provide training to 1,280 young Rwandans through an online training program.
Support capacity development of key national institutions in Rwanda by strengthening the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) ecosystem and developing workplace training modules for Integrated Polytechnic Regional Centres, key industries, and regulatory institutions.
Support the demand side of the Hanga Ahazaza initiative by supporting training and product development across Rwanda. The implementation of these products with small Rwandan businesses will allow them to develop, access finance and relieve poverty through the employment of disadvantaged Rwandans.
Question Coffee will provide 200 young Rwandans with the certified skills needed to succeed as employees in coffee preparation, while developing the coffee sector more broadly to create future employment opportunities.
Vatel will deliver professional short courses to youth with little or no experience in the hospitality sector. Vatel will also provide young Rwandans with management training and equip them with the skills required to fill executive level positions in the tourism and hospitality sector.
GroFin will provide 270 small businesses in the tourism and hospitality sector with access to business support services that allow the businesses to grow and generate new — and retain existing — job opportunities, that will primarily be filled by disadvantaged people in Rwanda as a means of relieving poverty.
GroFin will provide to select businesses using their own investment funds and those not selected for GroFin will have the opportunity to be connected to other funders through the Hanga Ahazaza initiative.
Develop I&M’s capacity and expertise to support 100 micro and small businesses in the tourism and hospitality sector with access to finance.
To support 270 tourism and hospitality businesses, and improve their capacity and skills, while also matching them with financial partners who can provide direct investment.
Dalberg will support functions related to the monitoring, learning and coordination of partners. Working closely with the Foundation, it will support the development and implementation of an initiative wide, cohesive learning framework and data collective system.
