Empowering Young Entrepreneurs in Rwanda
Photo by Jennifer Lazuta/CRS
Tiny, bright white and orange sparks fly as two pieces of metal are welded together. A layer of sawdust swirls before settling to the ground as long boards are cut in half. A faint scent of varnish lingers in the air.
Welcome to Jean Pierre Nishyirembere’s carpentry workshop, in Bikingi village in Rwanda.
Twenty-four-year-old Jean Pierre Nishyiembere, a participant in CRS’ Reach the Goal project, runs a carpentry business in Bikingi village in Rwanda.
Photo by Jennifer Lazuta/CRS
Each day, overlooking a tree-filled valley, 24-year-old Jean Pierre and his apprentices build custom tables, chairs, bed frames, doors, shelves, desks and more. It is a dream come true for Jean Pierre, who says most young men his age have few employment opportunities available outside of farming.
So when staff from Catholic Relief Services and Caritas came to his village in 2018 as part of the Huguka Dukore Akazi Kanoze project, which builds the capacity of young people to create businesses and create employment opportunities, Jean Pierre was eager to take part. He participated in key business management training, including one called Be Your Own Boss.
“It gave me the motivation to start my own business,” he says.
As part of the project, which is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Aid, Jean Pierre was given a pregnant sheep. After the sheep gave birth, he returned the sheep but kept the lamb to raise, breed and sell for profit.
“I was always interested in welding, so I saved up money to buy two welding machines,” Jean Pierre explains. “I also saw welding as an opportunity because schools use metal benches. And here, there were no other welders at the time. They had to pay [for them] from the city.”
Jean Pierre Nishyiembere, a participant in CRS’ Reach the Goal project and carpenter in Bikingi village in Rwanda, welds metal.
Photo by Jennifer Lazuta/CRS
Once word got out about his work in this village, neighboring schools also hired him to make benches. He took on three apprentices to help him to keep up with the demand. Soon, he had saved up nearly $500. It was enough to buy a small piece of property, additional raw materials and new equipment.
A few years later, in 2022, he was introduced to CRS’ Reach the Goal project. He had the opportunity to attend more entrepreneur and life skills training, where he learned financial planning, budgeting, profit evaluation and other skills. That same year, he attended a carpentry training program to hone, as well as expand, his techniques.
“This project opened my eyes because before I wasn’t believing in myself,” Jean Pierre says. “I didn’t believe I could create a business and become this successful. This project took the fear away. I saw other youth being successful and this inspired me. It was a fuel to get me to open my own business and be trained and connect with others.”
Today, in addition to making custom-made furniture, Jean Pierre has started pre-making his most popular items so that customers can also come to browse and buy. To further increase profit, he has started buying tree trunks instead of pre-cut wooden boards.
Jean Pierre Nishyiembere, a participant in CRS’ Reach the Goal project and carpenter in Bikingi village in Rwanda, sands a board that will be used to make a bed frame.
Photo by Jennifer Lazuta/CRS
“The biggest problem right now is electricity,” Jean Pierre says, moments after a power cut brings the electric saws to a stop. “We need more power to be able to use the machines. When more power comes, we will buy more machines.”
For now, Jean Pierre focuses on what he and his apprentices can build when the electricity works and finesses by hand when it doesn’t. He has also started a carpentry training program for youth in the area.
Jean Pierre says he hopes that other young people in his community can also succeed with their businesses with the appropriate support, training and financing.
“I am very grateful to be a part of this project and today manage a thriving business.”
CRS Rwanda empowers Rwandan youth to thrive by enabling sustained meaningful income generation and to use formal financial services to expand their small- and medium-size enterprises. CRS implements Gera Ku Nteg, or Reach the Goal, a privately-funded CRS project, which leverages existing key relationships with local sectoral stakeholders, such as the Government of Rwanda, the Church, and the private sector, who understand the severity of and seek to improve Rwanda’s youth unemployment problem, including the specific barrier of access to finance. The Gera Ku Ntego project is implemented in eight districts of Rwanda and aims to reach 7,441 young people and help them sustain meaningful income generation and use formal financial services to expand thei enterprises.
