Over 100 days in 1994, more than 800,000 people were killed in Rwanda’s genocide. In the years that followed, Rwandans faced a huge challenge: They needed to rebuild both their country and their livelihoods, and much of that responsibility fell to the country’s women. Some, like Rosalie Mukangenzi, were widows struggling to support their children. Others, like Marceline Ikigennye, had escaped to refugee camps after their neighbors killed their relatives and drove them from their land. It was in this context that the WDI Education Initiative launched a five-year training program in conjunction with the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women program. The combined organizations provided female entrepreneurs with business management education, mentoring and pathways to capital. Since 2007, the program has trained more than 300 entrepreneurs in Rwanda – including Mukangenzi, Ikigennye and others like them. The Education Initiative developed the entrepreneurship certificate program in cooperation with the School of Finance and Banking in Kigali (now called the University of Rwanda College of Business and Economics). Over the course of the six-month training period, about 30 participants would travel to Kigali for modules on business management/ strategy; operating a business in Rwanda/ customer care; marketing/ public relations; budgeting/ management accounting; financial accounting/ loans; and human resources/organizational management. The women also spent time developing a detailed, actionable business plan they would present at the end of the session. Graduation ceremonies were held for each cohort, and WDI continued to help the women afterward by organizing mentorship programs and holding annual reunions that featured speakers and seminars to address any challenges the women faced. At one graduation ceremony, Rwanda’s minister of trade and industry applauded the trainees for their zeal and said the program was in line with the government’s plan for the future. “The vision of our country is to have an economy based on entrepreneurs like you,” he said. Graduates have gone on to operate a wide variety of businesses, from farming, tailoring and brick making to handicrafts, construction and animal husbandry. Through the program, Mukangenzi’s maize-grinding mill boosted its annual revenue from $1,200 to almost $200,000 and grew from three to 42 employees. And Ikigennye was able to build a thriving agriculture business, which she now runs in memory of her family. The only “downside” of the program for Christine Murebwayire, manager of a cooperative known for its banana wine, has been keeping up with the demand she has been able to generate after learning new concepts and principles to apply to her business. “Since graduating from WDI’s entrepreneurship training, I have exported to Tanzania, Kenya, DRC, Burundi, Uganda and Congo, and expanded our production to include banana juice, banana fibers and banana perfume,” Murebwayire said. Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Program Education 10,000 Women participants 25th Anniversary 25