Help young entrepreneurs gain understanding in how to design and launch a new business.

Why we care: There is an immense need for business skills to take advantage of the rapid development of Rwanda’s tourism and hospitality sector.

How we’re solving this: Launching an Entrepreneurship Diploma that combines practical and theoretical training to help young women start and manage new profit making ventures.

Akilah was founded in 2010 as a scalable model of transformational business education for young women. The unique educational model is designed to identify the fastest growing sectors of the local economy, training and educating young women with market-relevant curriculum, and consequently ensuring job placement for all graduates. Challenging the existing norms of rote learning and limited career advancement, this model emphasizes experiential learning, leadership development, and entrepreneurial skills.

Akilah’s first Business Diploma in Hospitality Management was launched in January 2011 in response to the immense need in the rapid development of Rwanda’s tourism and hospitality sector. This September, Akilah launched its second 2 1/2 year Business Diploma in Entrepreneurship. The Entrepreneurship Major prepares students to understand every aspect of designing and launching a new venture. These young entrepreneurs will have the strong academic qualifications, the technical skills, and the business experience to start their own profit making enterprises. The major combines practical and theoretical training as students develop and manage the various campus social enterprises that contribute to Akilah’s sustainability.

Curriculum (over four academic semesters)

  • Microeconomics / Macroeconomics
  • Consumer Behavior / East African Market Trends
  • Writing the Business Plan
  • Creating, Leading & Managing Teams
  • Rwandan Business Law    
  • Summer Session A: Internships
  • Entrepreneurial Finance
  • Organizational Behavior
  • Supply Chain Management
  • Human Resource Management
  • Inventory Control & Management
  • Summer Session B: Leadership and Communications Seminars