Information Communication Technology (ICT) related services have become a key source of employment for Rwandans especially the youth, providing alternative sources of income that are more different and innovative from the renowned white-collar jobs dreamt about by the several university graduates most of whom, unfortunately always end up not getting them.
The mobile network operators, banks and other companies that are today leveraging on ICTs for efficient service delivery, have gone on to introduce different agency business models that many Rwandan youths have been able to take advantage of to sell the companies’ products and services in order to earn a living.
Taking a look at Jean Bosco Niyikora’s story, 26,a third year undergraduate student at the Independent Institute of Lay Adventists in Kigali (INILAK), his has been a storyof resilience and innovation that has seen him raise money to pay for his university tuition fees through airtime vending and providing Airtel Money financial services.
He, like most other youths, never thought about setting up a business while growing up. The computer engineering student says he was ‘forced’ to become an entrepreneur to raise money for tuition fees.
“The thought of dropping out of school was too scary to handle. So, I vowed to do all in my power to raise the fees myself. Though it was very challenging, I believed it was a better option than dropping out of university,” Niyikora narrates the origin of his inspiration to join the business world.
That was in July 2013. Presently, Niyikora has three outlets and is also an Airtel money agent along the Sonatubes street in Kicukiro District.
Move pays off handsomely
Niyikora could have stayed home, lamenting about his misfortune and the prospect of leading a doomed life as a university dropout. He, however, decided to handle the challenge head-on and turned it into an opportunity.
“My relatives and friends thought I was out of my mind, arguing that it was an odd job for a university student. I ignored them and focused on my goal of raising money to pay tuition fees,” he narrates.
Thanks to his persistence, Niyikora has emerged a much stronger person, rising from scratch to the success he enjoys today as one of the well-known telecom services’ provider.
“I started with just five airtime cards after a friend convinced me that I would make ‘good’ money if I persisted. So, I decided to give it a try…after all, there was more to gain than lose,” he says.
Like Niyikora, many other youths are seeing the unexplored opportunity in vending telecommunications, agency banking, insurance services and many other electronic channels of service delivery.
Companies, especially the financial services providers have realised a great need to reach the financially excluded using technology. Setting up physical branches in the districts has proven to not only be costly for firms but also not effective in reaching people who are under-served or not served at all in regards to different services like financial that are important.
The solution for this, as has been noted in Rwanda, is leveraging on the ever increasing and high mobile phone penetration levels and high coverage of mobile networks to most areas of the country.
According to latest figures from the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) show that mobile phone penetration currently stands at more than 74% of Rwanda’s estimated 12 million population and mobile network coverage at around 90% geographical reach of the country.
This presents tremendous opportunity for companies to purchase Point of Sale (PoS) devices and individuals who have mobile phones use them to access different company and government products and services.
Where the youths come in to earn a living from this is in becoming the agents rolled out in as many areas of the country, where Rwandans can easily carry out cash in and cash out transactions to their financial wallets, make utility payments, buy different products and services, save and borrow much more easily. These examples together with other options like paying for government services and dues, enable Rwandans youths earn a living through commissions given to them per transaction which accumulate to larger incomes when they execute as many transactions every day.
Different policy makers and ICT experts constantly note that ICTs should be included in youth employment and entrepreneurship strategies for three key reasons:
- More jobs and businesses require ICT skills
- ICTs are transforming the way young digital entrepreneurs do business
- There is an explosion of online learning opportunities and resources for job seekers and digital entrepreneurs
Indeed, ICTs are transforming old market sectors including farming, manufacturing and the health sector, and creating new market sectors that didn’t exist even a few years ago, like social media management and the mobile applications economy.
The demand for both basic and more advanced ICT skills cuts across all sectors, from agriculture and construction to education and service industries to ICT jobs themselves, in both the developing and developed countries. Basic digital literacy is increasingly required just to find job listings and apply for a job.
New ways of working and learning
The 2014 International Telecomunications Union (ITU) report themed, Digital Opportunities: Innovative ICT Solutions for Youth Employment, carries an important message for youth, the private sector, academia and government policy makers seeking to address youth unemployment: youth need digital skills if they want to get a job or start a business.
Digital literacy is effectively a prerequisite for employment and starting a business in all countries, and ICTs should be prioritized in all national youth employment and entrepreneurship strategies.
The report also highlights new ways digital entrepreneurs are working, such as tech hubs or application development labs. These are business incubation spaces that provide solutions to young digital entrepreneurs: they provide Internet connectivity, support structures (including shared office space), mentorship and collaboration. Tech hubs and app labs are springing up throughout the developed and developing world with Rwanda having its Kacyiru, Kigali-based K-Lab and think spaces.
The report recognizes that youth can obtain vital digital and business skills online. The report documents the explosion of new learning opportunities that can enable youth to get the right skills, including Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), open courseware and mobile learning as well as hackathons and mobile app competitions. All of these opportunities point to the need to promote collaborative learning in digital skills development strategies.
The report includes a number of policy recommendations, including ensuring digital skills and collaborative learning is part of school curricula, hosting innovation and co-working spaces for entrepreneurs and funding app contests and competitions.
ITU’s Telecommunication Development Sector (BDT) has created a new Youth Employment andntrepreneurship Resources DatabaseE to assist young people to find and use these digital opportunities. This database contains resources for finding employment, becoming an entrepreneur, learning technical and soft skills, finding a mentor, searching for funding, networking, and many other valuable services.
