Ingamba zo kuzahura ubucuruzi zafashwe kuri ba rwiyemezamirimo b’abagore mu gihe cy’icyorezo cya COVID-19 na nyuma yacyo.

 

New Faces New Voices Rwanda ku bufatanye na SME Response Clinic, izacisha ikiganiro kirimo kuba ako kanya ku ipaji yayo ya Facebook ku kuntu ingamba za Leta n’iz’Urwego rw’abikorera zo guhangana n’ingaruka za COVID-19 zafasha ba Rwiyemezamirimo b’abagore. Icyo kiganiro kizacishwa ku ipaji ya Facebook ya SME Response Clinic saa 15:00 kuwa 16 Nyakanga, na ururimi ruzakoreshwa cyane mu nama ni Ikinyarwanda.

 

Ibigo by’ubucuruzi bito n’ibiciriritse bigira uruhare rukomeye mu bukungu bw’u Rwanda, kandi bikanatunga abantu benshi. Hashingiwe ku ibarura ryakozwe mu 2017 n’Ikigo cy’Igihugu cy’Ibarurishamibare ku bikorwa by’ubucuruzi n’imirimo mu Rwanda, uru rwego, harimo n’abikorera ku giti cyabo n’amakoperative, byihariye 99% by’ibikorwa by’ubucuruzi na hejuru ya 70% by’imirimo yose.  Ba Rwiyemezamirimo b’abagore bafatiye runini ubukungu bw’u Rwanda. Imibare yatanzwe na Politiki y’Uburinganire mu Rwanda igaragaza ko abagore bayobora 42 ku ijana by’ibigo by’ubucuruzi, kandi bakaba bihariye 58 ku ijana by’ibigo by’ubucuruzi bibarizwa mu bucuruzi butanditse, bigira uruhare rwa 30 ku ijana mu Musaruro mbumbe w’Igihugu.  Ubushakashatsi butandukanye bukorwa mu Gihugu bugaragaza kandi ko ba Rwiyemezamirimo b’abagore bagira uruhare rukomeye mu guhanga imirimo mu Rwanda, aho abenshi baha akazi hagati y’abakozi batatu na batanu mu bikorwa by’ubucuruzi byabo.

Uretse uruhare bagira mu guteza imbere aho batuye binyuze mu gutanga akazi, ba Rwiyemezamirimo b’abagore banagira uruhare runini mu iterambere ry’imiryango yabo mu buzima ndetse n’imirire, aho batanga amafaranga y’ishuri, bakarihira abana babo mu mashuri makuru, kandi bagateza imbere ingo zabo babikesheje ubucuruzi bwabo. Ariko nubwo batanga uwo musanzu, ntihabura n’imbogamizi. Ba Rwiyemezamirimo b’abagore mu Rwanda bahura n’ibibazo mu kugera ku bintu bitatu by’ingenzi bikurikira : amakuru, amahugurwa ku bumenyi bwo gukora no guteza imbere ibikorwa by’ubucuruzi, no kubona imari. Babangamirwa n’ibibazo bitandukanye nk’imisoro ihanitse, ikiguzi cyo gutwara ibicuruzwa, ndetse no gukorerwa ivangura rishingiye ku mutungo.

Nk’uko bimeze no mu yandi masoko atandukanye ku Isi, ba Rwiyemezamirimo b’abagore mu Rwanda bagizweho ingaruka n’icyorezo cya COVID-19, kandi ingamba zo guhagarika ikwirakwira ry’iyo virusi zatumye imbogamizi bahura nazo zirushaho kugira ubukana.  Bitewe n’uko abaguzi bagabanutse no kuba gukwirakwiza ibicuruzwa bidakorwa neza, abantu benshi babuze akazi cyangwa barenda kukabura, mu gihe inguzanyo, imisoro n’ubukode bitishyurwa. Mu rwego rwo guhangana n’iki kibazo, Guverinoma y’u Rwanda yatangije Ikigega cyo Kuzahura Ubukungu nk’uburyo bwo kugabanya ingaruka icyorezo cya COVID-19 kiri kugira kuri uru rwego. Hashingiwe ku mbogamizi zizwi abagore bari mu bikorwa by’ubucuruzi bahura nazo, hari impungenge ko hadashyizweho ingamba zifatika, Ibigo by’ubucuruzi Bito n’Ibicirirtse bifitwe cyangwa biyobowe n’abagore bishobora kutamenya amakuru, bityo bigatuma batitabira Ikigega cyo Kuzahura Ubukungu uko bikwiye.

Mu rwego rwo gutanga amakuru ku Kigega cyo Kuzahura Ubukungu no ku zindi ngamba zihari za Leta n’iz’Urwego rw’abikorera zo gushyigikira ba Rwiyemezamirimo b’abagore muri ibi bihe bigoye, New Faces New Voices Rwanda, ku bufatanye na SME Response Clinic izacisha ikiganiro kirimo kuba ako kanya ku ipaji yayo ya Facebook ku buryo ingamba za Leta zo guhangana n’ingaruka za COVID-19 zafasha ba Rwiyemezamirimo b’abagore. Icyo kiganiro kizanyura ku ipaji ya Facebook ya SME Response Clinic saa 15:00 kuwa 16 Nyakanga. Mu rwego rwo kugira ngo ba Rwiyemezamirimo b’abagore benshi babashe kugikurikirana, muri icyo gikorwa hazakoreshwa Ikinyarwanda cyane.

Abazatanga ibiganiro barimo:

Dr. Monique Nsanzabaganwa; Umuyobozi Wungirije wa Banki Nkuru y’ u Rwanda,

Jeanne Françoise Mubiligi; Umuyobozi w’Ishami ry’Abagore mu Rugaga rw’Abikorera,

Claude Kabutware; Uhagarariye Imishinga muri Pro- Femmes Twese Hamwe, na Hannington Namara, Umuyobozi Mukuru wa Equity Bank, Rwanda.

 

Ibiganiro bizayoborwa na Ida Ingabire, Umunyamabanga wa New Faces, New Voices Rwanda na Ruziga Emmanuel Masantura, Umuyamakuru mu Bukungu Rwanda Broadcasting Agency.

Iki kiganiro kizaba ari igice cya mbere cy’ibiganiro bibiri bizakorwa n’abafatanyabikorwa b’ingenzi mu bukungu bw’u Rwanda. Inama ya kabiri iteganyijwe kuwa 30 Nyakanga, kikaba kizibanda ku buryo abatanga serivisi z’imari bari gufasha by’umwihariko mu gukemura ibibazo ba Rwiyemezamirimo b’abagore bahura nabyo kubera COVID-19.

 

Relief Measures Available for Women Entrepreneurs During and Post COVID-19

 

 New Faces New Voices Rwanda in collaboration with the SME Response Clinic will be hosting a live discussion focused on existing government relief measures that can help support women entrepreneurs during and post COVID-19. The discussion will be hosted on the SME Response Clinic’s Facebook page at 3:00 pm on July 16 and will be held primarily in Kinyarwanda.

Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) play a significant role in the Rwandan economy and contribute to sustain livelihoods for many.  According to the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda’s Establishment Census 2017, the sector, including private sector and cooperatives, represents 99% of businesses and over 70% of in-establishment employment. Women entrepreneurs are a vital force in Rwanda’s economy. Statistics from the National Gender Policy in Rwanda indicate that women head 42 percent of enterprises and comprise 58 percent of enterprises in the informal sector, which accounts for 30 percent of GDP. National surveys indicate that women entrepreneurs also have a tremendous impact on job creation in Rwanda, with many hiring between 3 and 5 employees to work in their businesses.

In addition to contributing to the development of their local communities through offering employment opportunities, women entrepreneurs contribute substantially to the development of their families through health and nutrition, ensuring funds are available for school fees and higher education for their children, and making improvements to their homes with profits from their businesses. Their contributions, however, are not without challenges. Women entrepreneurs in Rwanda face difficulties in access to three important factors: information, business skills training and development, and finance. They grapple with issues such as high taxes and transportation costs as well as discrimination in property ownership.

As in many markets across the globe, women entrepreneurs in Rwanda have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and measures to contain the spread of the virus have deepened some of the existing challenges they face. In the face of drops in demand or disruptions in the supply chains, a number of jobs have been lost or are at the brink while loans, taxes and rent are going unpaid. To respond to the challenge, the Government of Rwanda introduced the Economic Recovery Fund (ERF) as a mechanism to mitigate the threats that the pandemic is putting on the sector. Due to known barriers women in business face, there is a legitimate concern that without a deliberate effort women-owned/led MSMEs are likely to remain ill-informed and their uptake of ERF less than optimal.

To provide information about ERF and other private and public sector measures available to support women entrepreneurs in these uncertain times, New Faces New Voices Rwanda in collaboration with the SME Response Clinic will be hosting a live discussion focused on how government measures to address the economic effects of COVID-19 can support women entrepreneurs. The discussion will be hosted on the SME Response Clinic’s Facebook page at 3:00 pm on July 16. To increase accessibility for women entrepreneurs, the event will be held primarily in Kinyarwanda.

Panelists include:

Dr. Monique Nsanzabaganwa, Deputy Governor, National Bank of Rwanda

Jeanne Françoise Mubiligi, Chairperson, Rwanda Chamber of Women Entrepreneurs

Claude Kabutware, Project Coordinator, Pro- Femmes Twese Hamwe

Hannington Namara, Managing Director, Equity Bank Rwanda

The panel will be moderated by Ida Ingabire, Secretariat at New Faces, New Voices Rwanda and Ruziga Emmanuel Masantura, Business Jounalist, Rwanda Broadcasting Agency

 This discussion will be the first of a two-part conversation with key stakeholders in the Rwandan economy. The second webinar, scheduled for July 30, will focus on how financial services providers are addressing the specific needs of women entrepreneurs in the face of COVID-19.