The one-year project, implemented from January to December 2024, offered financial literacy, business planning, and financial management training to 15 selected VSLAs, each comprising 25 to 40 members, across Kamonyi and Muhanga Districts. Each group also received seed capital of 700,000 Rwandan Francs (approximately USD 484).

With this financial support, the Abunzubumwe VSLA purchased four sewing machines and established a thriving tailoring workshop.

“It was easy for us to start tailoring because two of our members already had the skills. They trained the rest of us. We also had a ready market, as our village didn’t have a tailoring workshop,” she notes.

The group now plans to expand the workshop into a training centre, where young people and women in the community can gain skills and secure employment.

Fuelled by an entrepreneurial spirit, Niyonsaba has also identified additional income-generating opportunities in her community. She started an Early Childhood Education (ECE) centre to care for the children of mothers working at the workshop or employed elsewhere providing her with additional income.

“I want to thank ForAfrika for empowering us and restoring the dignity of women in my community. Today, women are building homes for their families, and their children are healthier because they have access to nutritious food,” she says smiling.