From Market Stalls to Media House: Rwanda’s Journey to Job Creation
A sunny June day in a Kigali market, a young girl named Joy sets out a small basket of oranges along the road. She had left school due to financial hardship, and now her days are a juggling act–helping her mother with chores, walking her younger male siblings to school, and selling whatever produce is in season to help make ends meet. Despite being smart and filled with ambition, she had become one of the 21% of young girls who are not in education, employment or training, confined to low-paying work and earning below the national poverty line.
Given her circumstances, education felt out of reach, but Joy still dreamed of learning skills so she could tell stories behind cameras and design visual content. With no formal training and few opportunities for young women in technical fields, it really was just a dream.
Today, Joy isn’t at the roadside stand. Within six months of completing a digital skills training, she’s started working at a vibrant media house in Kigali and still does–creating content for “Made in Rwanda” campaigns–and earning 9.6% more money as a result.
What changed? The Impact of the Priority Skills for Growth Program
Joy is one of nearly 24,000 youth who benefited from the World Bank’s Rwanda Priority Skills for Growth Program-for-Results (PSG). This initiative shifted Rwanda’s skills development model from a supply-driven approach to a market-driven model. With $270 million financing, the program expanded job-relevant training for out-of-school youth (focusing especially on young females); established private sector partnerships for on-the-job training; strengthened institutional capacity; and provided access to affordable student loans for long-term training to over 29,000 students.
THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT: A song produced by trained students who obtained their certificates after 6 months of training in ICT & Digital skills under the PSG Program.
Aligning Training with Market Needs: Bridging the Skills Gap
Before the PSG Program, a majority of Rwanda’s youth and graduates struggled with employability, not finding jobs due to the mismatch of qualifications with labor market needs. The Skills Development Fund, introduced under the PSG Program, bridged the skills gap by fostering industry-training collaboration and equipping out-of-school youth with market relevant skills.
The development of competency-based modular programs with industry participation ensured that training programs were aligned with labor market needs. Faculty members gained hands-on experience through industry attachments, enhancing the relevance of instruction and improving program delivery.
The results were impressive: 80% of the 1,360 beneficiaries interviewed who had participated in the short-term training under the Rapid Response Training window found permanent jobs after completing their training. Overall, more than 80% of the nearly 24,000 individuals who participated in Skills Development Fund programs successfully graduated, with women making up over one-third of graduates.
Employers confirmed the program’s effectiveness, with 83% reporting high satisfaction with how the training improved workplace productivity. The PSG also boosted entrepreneurship, with many graduates starting businesses that created additional jobs. These outcomes demonstrated how well-targeted, employer-linked training could transform workforce development across an entire country.
The PSG Program catalyzed the creation and accreditation of 46 new or upgraded TVET and degree programs on the selected economic sectors aligned with market needs (energy, transport and logistics, and agro-processing). Thus, nearly 6,000 new students enrolled in these future-forward fields. With programs co-developed alongside industry partners, students weren’t just learning–they were preparing for real jobs in real industries.
From Gender Gaps to Growing Equality
For girls like Joy, the challenges were even steeper. Technical training was largely male-dominated–men outnumbered women three to one in technical tertiary institutions. But the PSG Program made gender inclusion a cornerstone of its mission, supporting government gender equality policy, which encouraged greater female participation in the training programs.
Gender-based violence (GBV) awareness has become part of the curriculum with updates of institutions’ codes of conduct. Retooling staff implementing the program with gender-responsive training and gender consideration in students’ enrollment paid off. Women made up 47.8% of short-term training graduates. .
In Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programs–where women had been chronically underrepresented–female access to student loans for long-term training has increased from 32% to 38%.
Data-Driven Decision Making: Enhancing Skills Development with Real-Time Insights
One reason Rwanda’s reforms worked is because they were backed by data. At the start of the PSG Program, there was no centralized way to understand where graduates went, what employers needed, or how well training worked.
The PSG Program introduced two transformative systems: a Graduate Tracking System and a modernized Labor Market Information System. These tools gave policymakers and educators real-time insights into school outcomes and graduate success, helping align training programs with labor market needs, skills gaps, and emerging opportunities.
Laying the Foundation for the Future
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This program is a powerful example of what’s possible when investment aligns with real labor market needs through a results-based financing approach. By linking financing to results and labor market outcomes, Rwanda implemented a major shift towards market driven skills development, a critical driver of economic transformation. The PSG has laid a solid foundation for improved processes and governance of skills development in Rwanda with a key focus on market relevance to improve employability through development of demand driven new/updated curriculum by the private sector/industry and academia; effective and efficient tracking and recovery of student loans; and support to the SDF to directly respond to market labor market segments and diverse groups of youths in Rwanda.
As Rwanda now enters the next phase, with new support from the World Bank through the Priority Skills for Growth and Youth Employment Project, it carries with it a blueprint for success: match training to real-world demand, build systems for inclusion and accountability, and invest in people as the country’s most valuable asset.
This feature comes from Seimane Diouf, Senior Program Assistant at the World Bank, who gratefully acknowledges and thanks the World Bank’s Ruth Karimi Charo (Senior Education Specialist, Program Task Team Leader), and Sergio Venegas Marin (Economist, Program Task Team Member) for their valuable guidance and contribution.
Read the original article on World Bank.
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– 19 June marks International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, a day to reflect on the impact of this heinous war crime and the need to stand with survivors to break the cycle of violence.
It also provides an opportunity to highlight the critical role of women in peacebuilding, and the need to invest in local civil society organizations working in communities to support survivors and prevent future conflict.
Below, President of Papua New Guinea’s Kup Women for Peace, Angela Apa, speaks about her decades of activism to end tribal conflict in Papua New Guinea and to address other forms of violence against women and girls. Kup Women for Peace is a community organization based in Simbu Province that works alongside formal and traditional structures of leadership to change attitudes about both violence and women’s roles in society.
Why are you called “Mama Angela”?
Because I treat everyone like my daughters and sons. When they have problems, they come to me for comfort. I share whatever I have with them, pray with them, counsel them. So they call me “Mama”, even the men.
How do women use their influence to broker peace between tribes but also within families?
That power comes from participating as a woman leader in the community. I do a lot of awareness on human rights and the laws affecting the rights of women and men. I explain that violence is stopping the development of the community. They realize that when there’s a lot of fighting and hatred, it’s not bringing development into their community or their family. It stops children from going to school, and that hinders prosperity in the community. Most of the time, I am their TV, their newsletter, their source of knowledge, so people trust our work. They respect the work that Kup Women for Peace is doing. The network in the Highlands is very strong. If I cannot solve a problem, I call another group and we have a case conference.
“Women and girls were being raped, cash crops and houses were being destroyed, and boys who should’ve been in school were killed because of tribal fighting.” – Angela Apa, President of Kup Women for Peace
How did you end the tribal conflict between your own tribe and others?
In 1999, we did a lot of groundwork. I had to walk from my tribe to my two enemy tribes, [and talk to] my enemy sisters, Agnes Sil and Mary Kini [co-founders of Kup Women for Peace]. Our men used to fight against each other and when we were children, we saw what was happening. Girls were being forced to marry the men with guns, women and girls were being raped in the trouble fighting, cash crops and houses were being destroyed, and boys who should’ve been in school were killed because of tribal fighting.
We made a grand survey walking from enemy tribe to enemy tribe. We said, “We will make peace”. One year we did awareness, then we did training on conflict resolution, peacebuilding and after this groundwork, we said, “Enemies are for men, not for us women”. We educated all the women, brought them all together and made a mass awareness campaign. All the enemy women from each tribe joined hands and said, “Who is the man who has the guts to fight us?” The men were not afraid, but they realized that we meant business.
A big reconciliation happened in 2000 and all the tribes came together. To this day, no fighting. If there’s going to be a fight, someone will call me, any time of the day or night, and I will call the police.
Please share your experience addressing sorcery-accusation related violence (SARV) in Papua New Guinea.
It’s like witchcraft. In the Highlands region, SARV is mostly done when somebody dies. If the leader in the community, or his wife or child dies, someone may accuse vulnerable men, women, children or even the whole family of sorcery. When they are accused, their houses are burned, sometimes they are bashed up. When that happens, they come to us and we put them in crisis support. We also refer them to the police station for legal action and we have a lawyer who writes their affidavit and helps them go to court.
“To this day, no fighting. If there’s going to be a fight, someone will call me.” – Ms. Apa
Is SARV usually directed at women?
Men are often not accused because they can fight back. But women – vulnerable mothers, widows who have no sons – they will be accused of sorcery. Vulnerable families, especially, who may not be financially [well off] but may be rich in land or resources. Through jealousy or if they want to get their property, perpetrators will accuse vulnerable people to get that land and resources.
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We try to save the survivor and put them in a secure place. If they’ve been beaten up, that may be the hospital, where we have a small area where they can be treated. After the case is referred to the justice system, we mediate – discussing with the police, the village court magistrates, village leaders, and both the perpetrator’s and the survivor’s family. We do a lot of advocacy around the laws against SARV.
How does Kup Women for Peace approach restorative justice?
If I take your coat, I have to restore it back. The damage is done, people are upset, but the house has to be rebuilt. We have a peacemaking custom called Brukim Sugar, which means “breaking sugar”. We have sugar cane in the villages that grows very tall. They cut it, and each side takes half. Now, sometimes we use Coca-Cola. We take one each, offer it to each other and then we share and drink. It’s a sign of peacemaking.
As told to Anne Fullerton. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Read the original article on Spotlight Initiative.
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What: The African Union Commission (AUC), through its Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security, in partnership with the Government of Ethiopia through the Ethiopian Civil Service Commission, will host the 10th Continental Africa Public Service Day (APSD).
When: 21-23 June 2025
Where: African Union HQ, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,
Registration form to participate in the 10th Africa Public Service Day celebrations is available:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc1PsflUeGNHeTOjWbr-0TjO1iYm6tTF03_TOClzWYQU8GzAg/viewform
Why:
The theme “Enhancing the agility and resilience of public institutions to achieve equitable governance and rapidly address historical service delivery gaps” aligns with the overarching 2025 AU theme: “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent through Reparations.” The theme is grounded in the understanding that strong and adaptable public institutions are essential for tackling Africa’s historical injustices and promoting long-term resilience. The enduring legacies of colonialism, slavery, apartheid, and systemic marginalization have led to deep socio-economic disparities that continue to impede inclusive development across the continent. Public institutions play a pivotal role in addressing these historical service delivery gaps by driving comprehensive policy reforms, ensuring equitable service provision, and fostering responsive, inclusive governance. By strengthening their agility and resilience, public institutions can effectively advance the transformation agenda and build a more equitable future for all Africans and the Global African Diaspora.
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The 10th APSD will centre on strengthening public institutions to enhance their efficiency, effectiveness, agility, and resilience in service delivery. By fostering innovation, accountability, and responsiveness, the APSD aims to equip institutions with the capacity to adapt to emerging challenges and meet the evolving needs of citizens. Through knowledge-sharing, capacity-building, and policy dialogue, the APSD will serve as a platform to drive public sector transformation, ensuring that institutions operate with integrity, inclusivity, and a citizen-centric approach to governance.
Participants
The event will bring together public service institutions, government officials, academia, civil society, media, and international partners from across Africa and the diaspora.
Media are invited to connect and attend the 10th African Public Service Day from 21-23 June 2025
For more, please contact:
Mr. Issaka Garba Abdou, Head of Division, Governance and Human Rights Directorate for Governance and Conflict prevention E-mail: GarbaAdoui@africa-union.org, Cc: RaumnauthD@africa-union.org, MangaY@africa-union.org, and bizimanab@africa-union.org
Read the original article on African Union.
AllAfrica publishes around 500 reports a day from more than 110 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.
Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.
AllAfrica is a voice of, by and about Africa – aggregating, producing and distributing 500 news and information items daily from over 110 African news organizations and our own reporters to an African and global public. We operate from Cape Town, Dakar, Abuja, Johannesburg, Nairobi and Washington DC.
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