Project Akilah is working with the Rwandan Ministry of Education to develop a training and leadership institute for young women.

The Akilah institute will address a critical problem in Rwanda: lack of higher education opportunities for young women.

Only 1 percent of Rwandans complete university and less than a third of those students are women.

The Akilah Institute will be the first school of its kind in the country.

This program will create opportunities for countless young women to pursue higher education in a nurturing environment that fosters creativity and ambition. They will gain practical skills and experience that will allow them to find meaningful employment in the hospitality industry, the fastest growing sector of the Rwandan economy. Students will receive training in English, computer skills, financial literacy, hospitality management, culinary arts, and more. Akilah’s holistic curriculum ensures that our students also become knowledgeable about health and nutrition, leadership, and entrepreneurship.

The Akilah Institute is located in the Bugesera district of Rwanda, 35 minutes from the capital of Kigali. During the 1994 genocide, this region was severely targeted by militias; more than 80 percent of the Tutsi population was killed.

Today, Bugesera has the highest rate of child-headed in the country.

Rwanda’s tourism industry is fastest growing sector of the economy. We designed our innovative curriculum in response to the needs of Rwandan private sector leaders and the Ministry of Education and to statistics that reveal significant gaps in this skill set in the country. When Akilah students graduate with market-relevant skills, they will be able to find stable jobs and earn more than if they were working in subsistence agriculture or the informal economy.