Rwanda

Confident girls grow up to be bold women who transform their own lives and communities.

Together with the Mastercard Foundation, BRAC is supporting 63,000 adolescent girls and young women in Rwanda. They’re learning job skills, business training, and life skills. With these tools, they are set up to start and scale their own businesses.

With access to training and education, girls can build confidence and skills to become leaders in their communities and beyond. Rwanda’s own Parliament is proof of what’s possible, with more than 60% of seats held by women. It’s the highest percentage in the world!

When women have access to financial services, they invest in brighter futures for themselves, their families, and their communities.

BRAC Rwanda Microfinance Company PLC provides responsible financial services to people who are excluded from the mainstream financial system. It particularly focuses on women living in poverty in rural and hard-to-reach areas of the country.

With access to financial services tailored to their needs and financial and digital literacy training, women are strengthening their financial resilience and building stable livelihoods. Access to financial services is a core part of BRAC’s holistic approach to development, complementing its social programmes to drive sustainable change and support people to lift themselves out of poverty.

When communities lead, climate solutions last.

Rwanda faces growing environmental challenges, many made worse by climate change—like extreme weather, water shortages, and loss of biodiversity.

To strengthen local climate resilience, BRAC International Rwanda works with District and Sector Adaptation Planning Committees. Together, we support community members to take the lead. Through hands-on training in the Locally Led Adaptation (LLA) process, committee members identified climate hazards, proposed local solutions, and created action plans.

By supporting local leadership and practical solutions, communities can prioritise needs and protect their environment—and their future.

Scaling a proven pathway out of poverty in partnership with the Government of Rwanda

Nearly 1 in 10 people live in extreme poverty. They face multiple, reinforcing barriers that keep them and their households in a poverty trap. Economic growth alone hasn’t proven sufficient to create economic opportunity to overcome these traps. Traditional long-standing social assistance and other programmes have not adequately addressed the root cause. There is a need for new tools to create opportunity for those furthest behind. The Graduation approach is a proven way to help people graduate out of extreme poverty.

Graduation is a sequenced, two-year investment that helps people build sustainable livelihoods. Each participant gets support to meet basic needs and receives a productive asset. Assets could be livestock or inventory to start a small business. They also get coaching to build confidence, know-how, and hope.

The Government of Rwanda adopted the National Strategy for Sustainable Graduation (NSSG) in 2022 representing a notable commitment to empowering people in poverty to develop sustainable livelihoods and establish a pathway out of poverty as part of the Government’s broader efforts to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030.

BRAC works closely with the Government of Rwanda and other organisations to scale this model through established public programmes and existing government investment. We provide technical assistance, policy advocacy, and capacity-building support.

The Graduation approach was first developed by BRAC in Bangladesh in 2002. Today, over 100 organisations in nearly 50 countries use it. BRAC hopes to help 21 million people escape extreme poverty by 2030—including 4.6 million families by 2026.

Raising the next generation of leaders.

Young people in Rwanda face significant challenges, especially those living in poverty or in rural areas. While literacy rates are high, many students facing poverty leave school early. Without access to job training or technology, about 17% of young people ages 15-24 are unemployed.

BRAC Rwanda’s work with young people combines social and economic empowerment with education, ensuring that girls and women reach their full potential.

Through safe, mentor-led clubs, girls gain life skills, learn how to think critically, and build confidence. They also receive vocational training, startup kits, and support to start small businesses of their own. They are also equipped with the skills needed to better navigate the challenges that may affect their lives. Sports and games are also a part of the experience, helping girls strengthen their teamwork skills.

Throughout the process, we also work closely with parents, communities, local partners, and governments, to create solutions to the challenges they face. For over 15 years, this approach has helped girls and young women take charge of their futures.