Annet Muhorakeye emerged the overall winner of Youth Connekt Africa Awards 2024, walking away with a tidy sum of twenty five million Rwandan francs (25,000,000).
After working in the hospitality industry for five years, Annet felt it was high time she started something of her own. Both for her wellbeing, but also the country. Who isn’t proud to be a Rwandan in this day and era?
With a reasonable understanding of the coffee sector, plus a husband who was both a senior beverage manager and barrister, she embarked on her journey to self employment. This commenced with a thorough research about the product, discovering that an individual in Rwanda consumed 0.2grams of coffee a day. Insane, she thought. ‘Taking matters in her own hands’ to change the narrative.
With the slogan, ‘experience love at the first sip of coffee’, she founded Elite Cafe. Certainly, the beginning wasn’t a walk in the park–limited funds, marketing the product, managing operations, all made her question the decision she had made. Nonetheless, she soldiered on, thanks to mentorship from those who had gone before her. Not to mention the different study opportunities and workshops she exposed herself to.
Along her entrepreneurial journey, Annet came to the realization that besides drinking coffee, people ought to grasp the real essence behind the crop. Thus, launching ‘Elite Cafe Training Center’ to train baristas and roasters.
To date, the facility has empowered over 700 young men and women in coffee making skills, majority of whom are employed in and outside of Rwanda. Speaking to SENS, the enthusiastic young lady assured us that the sky is now the limit. With a mammoth amount added to her bank account, thanks to the Government of Rwanda and partners, more is to come.
“I plan to expand operations and reach more customers,” she said. Improving the quality of her coffee, plus the service is on Annet’s to do list. By so doing, she affirms, “more employment opportunities will be available for the youth. And as a way of giving back to the community, we will mentor female upcoming entrepreneurs.”
A year before Annet stepped into the YCA (Youth Connekt Africa) awards female winners spotlight, the highlight was on Olivia Africa. The 29 year old had triumphed in the manufacturing category, and was the second in the overall awards.
This win earned her twenty million (20,000,000) Rwandan francs that she re-invested in her soap production company, hiring more than six youth employees and purchasing modern equipment.
Inspiration to venture into soap production
Originally, Olivia’s passion was in hospitality. She had pursued a course at Akila university and successfully secured a job at one of the prestigious hotels in kigali upon completion.
Unfortunately, COVID-19 broke out–tremendously impacting the tourism industry in the country, but most importantly rendering Olivia jobless. With ample time at her fingertips, and the phone as a pastime, Olivia resorted to educating herself with income generating skills. From tailoring to decoration, until she finally settled with soap making.
“I conducted some research on the internet and found out that Rwanda imported 90 percent of her bathing soap. Since my goal was to find something that can be resilient to future pandemics, while at the same time earning me money and giving back to my country, I settled for soap manufacturing,” she noted.
Olivia recounts trying and failing numerous times, “at some point, I hired someone to teach me, but still the soap turned out as stone,” she remarked. Acquiring a place that meets regulatory requirements, an ‘s’ mark, FDA premises license, among other things was also a tag of war for the young entrepreneur.
However, a year and a half later, she emerged victorious. In 2023, ninety bars of ‘EVA Refresh’ soap were officially launched onto the Rwandan market. Present day, the Kicukiro based company manufactures at least 1,500 bars of soap daily that are distributed in shops and supermarkets in Kigali, Musanze, Rusizi and Kirehe.
“The soap costs as low as 850Rwf and is good for all ages and skin types,” said Olivia. She added, “as a manufacturer, I try as much as possible to make my product affordable to all Rwandans, sparing them extra cash for other necessities.”
Winning in Youth Connekt Africa Awards
Olivia attributes her YCA awards victory to early preparations, noting that before contesting in the competition, her product met all the necessary requirements
“The reason I won the Youth Connekt Africa competition is; I joined whilst having all regulatory approvals and proof that my business would contribute to community and national development,” she explained.
With her twenty million Rwandan francs cash prize, Olivia says she was able to purchase modern equipment for her business, expand distribution and provide employment opportunities to more people.
“Participating in the Youth Connect 2023 came at the time when my business needed to thrive, and emerging as a winner helped it do exactly that. ‘EVA Refresh’ became famous on the Rwandan market and through customer feedback, we were able to make improvements,” Olivia remarked.
She also adds that the competition enabled her to meet like-minded people who have been a wellspring of wisdom for her entrepreneurial journey.
Moving forward, she wants to make ‘EVA Refresh’ a household brand across Rwanda and the region. As for aspiring entrepreneurs, “don’t wait for opportunities to come to you. Go out and create them,” she says.
About Youth Connekt Africa Awards
Youth Connekt Africa Awards is an initiative under the Youth Connekt Africa umbrella, inaugurated in 2012 by the government of Rwanda.
The awards are aimed at honouring outstanding youths in the categories of: project manufacturing, agro-processing, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), women in entrepreneurship, and people with Disabilities (PWDs).
This year, creatives were also recognised through the ‘arts’ category, which saw comedian Merci Ndaruhutse, artist Uwiduhaye Ligobert and Biseruka Joshua claiming victory of ten million Rwandan francs each.
In Rwanda, youths aged 16-30 with businesses registered under Rwanda Development Board (RDB) are eligible to apply for the awards. These pick the application forms from the sector offices or download them at ‘miniyouth.gov.rw’, fill and submit to the sector office where their business is registered.
Outstanding individuals are then determined from the sector level, district level and national level, clinching prizes worth millions.
Youth connect Africa was championed by president Paul Kagame and initiated by the Ministry of Youth and (ICT) Information and Communication Technology in 2012 to “empower young people and connect them to the public, private sector and civil society for economic opportunities”.
This year, 260 youth entrepreneurs were awarded a total of five hundred (500) million Rwandan francs for their hard work, resilience and commitment to the development of the country and continent at large through providing innovative solutions.
