The Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women.

NAME: Hortense Mazimpaka

COUNTRY: Rwanda

BUSINESS: Moriah Hill Resort (resort)

Hortense, 35 years old, co-owns Moriah Hill Resort, a beautiful get-away in Rwanda.

Hortense and her husband owned a small part of land on the shore of Lake Kivu. After building two small apartments on the land, they were able to secure a loan from the bank. The project grew into the resort it is today, which opened in July 2007. Moriah Hill Resort features 18 rooms, a restaurant, a conference hall that seats 120, and one motorized boat that holds eight passengers. There are also kayaks for the lake recreations.

Hortense currently has 28 employees at the resort. She has recently secured more land and plans to expand the resort from 18 to 68 rooms, a fitness facility, more water sports and an artisanal shop featuring handicrafts made by women in the region.

By attending PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS, Hortense hopes to learn more about marketing her resorts and how to approach business challenges as they arise.

Hortense says that before starting her business, providing for five children was difficult, but her business has helped bring financial stability to her family.

NAME: Berthe Kitenge

COUNTRY: Rwanda

BUSINESS: Intergraphic & Sport Style (sports equipment distributor)

Berthe, 50 years old, owns Intergraphic and Sport Style, a company that distributes sports equipment.

Berthe started working in a printing manufactory in 1996, but she was always thinking about what she could do with a business. So, in 2005, she opened her own business, which started out as a printing business, then grew to school furniture and then to schools’ sporting goods and equipment.

Products include balls, fitness accessories, protection wear, racket and water sports equipment, apparel bags and martial arts equipment. The company not only provides products to international schools, but it also does business with sports federation, the government and fitness clubs.

The company now has eight employees. Berthe’s company is the only one of its kind in Kigali, so she hopes to maximize on her business’ opportunities.

By attending PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS, Berthe wants to do nothing but focus on business, business, business.

Outside of her business, Berthe is a member of the Private Sector Federation, and serves as second Vice President on the Chamber of Women Entrepreneurs.

NAME: Joy Kayitesi

COUNTRY: Rwanda

BUSINESS: Honest General Enterprise Limited (import/export)

Joy, 47 years old, co-owns Honest General Enterprise Limited, an import/export company.

Joy’s business originally stared as a retail shop in 1991. Six years later, the shop grew to a whole sale enterprise. Then in 2001, the business became a fully functional import/export company.

The business distributes goods to several multi-national companies, including British American Tobacco, Colgate-Palmolive East Africa Limited, SARA LEE Household and body care Kenya Limited, which manufactures shoe polish and hair products. Over the next five years, Joy hopes to maximize her operations to meet her customers’ demands and increase her profits.

By attending the PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS training, Joy strongly believes that she will knowledge that will help her uplift her business and her entrepreneurial skills to greater heights. She is also eager to learn about becoming a more active public policy advocate. Joy says that she wants to be empowered about the different public policies that affect businesses, such as government structures, taxes, city, state and government rules governing business.

NAME: Molly Kayitesi

COUNTRY: Rwanda

BUSINESS: Hallo Phone Store/Rwanda Heritage Tours & Travel Company

Molly, 35 years old, co-owns two businesses: mobile phone company and a tourism company, which offers transportation, hotel and ticket booking services.

Molly wanted to be a part of developing her country, as a citizen and as a woman.

Currently, Molly has 10 employees. Through her PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS training, she hopes to share knowledge and experiences with fellow businesswomen and learn how to improve her businesses.

NAME: Ariane Karegire

COUNTRY: Rwanda

BUSINESS: EVENT.ORG (event planning)

Ariane, 30 years old, owns EVENT.ORG, which specializes in event management, specifically wedding planning.

She started her business when she realized that she wanted to have more freedom in what she did professionally, and she wanted to do something she was passionate about. Ariane noticed that wedding-planning was often a business-profession in other countries, and after some research, Ariane decided to join the trade. Ariane has owned her business for three years, and she has four employees.

Eventually, she would like her business to become a “one-stop shop,” for her customers, providing all necessary services without using outside vendors. She also wants to create a wedding magazine and host an annual wedding exhibition.

By attending PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS, Ariane hopes to learn more about daily management, accounting, and how to recover more client payments.

NAME: Marie-Josee Kankera

COUNTRY: Rwanda

BUSINESS: Coffee Processing & Export

Marie-Josee, 44 years old, owns a coffee processing and export business

Upon submitting her business plan to the Rwanda Development Bank, Marie-Josee received a loan to begin her business.

Marie-Josee’s business consists of a coffee washing station and fully exported washed coffee. She currently has 70 seasonal temporary staff.

NAME: Agnes Gatsinzi

COUNTRY: Rwanda

BUSINESS: Hope for the Future (organic farming & agro-based school)

Agnes, 31 years old, co-owns Hope for the Future, is a multi-faceted operation. Currently, Hope for the Future is an organic farming enterprising, but Agnes has future plans to expand the business to include an agro-based school project for street kids that focuses on education and hands-on agricultural experience.

Hope for the Future grows maize, and this year’s harvest is expected in April.

Agnes is already supporting 24 street children, and she has four employees who watch over and train the children in agricultural projects on the farm.

In addition to these four employees, Hope for the Future has hired 100 employees – mostly women – to work in the fields, tilling the soil, planting the maize and wedding.

Agnes hopes to turn her attention full time within one year to Hope for the Future once the business has stabilized and she has enough profit to cover her own salary and medical insurance. Agnes also wants to be able to provide train other farmers and develop her school project.

Through her PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS training, Agnes wants to learn more about developing her business, more agricultural innovations, project management, and how to develop a successful school.

NAME: Nuriat Kaka

COUNTRY: Rwanda

BUSINESS: Rwanda Chick (chicken farming)

Nuriat, 40 years old, owns Rwanda Chick, a chicken farm. She started the business after she discovered there was a need to develop poultry farming in her country.

Nuriat has been importing chickens, but she now plans to start a hatchery plant. She currently has five employees.

She describes the business as a income generator especially for rural areas. It not only provides nutrition for the community, but it also creates jobs and as an added benefit produces a source of fertilizer.

Nuriat is currently working toward her MBA through correspondence with Cambridge International College. Over the next five years, she hopes to close the gap between the number of chickens imported and the demand for chickens in Rwanda. She would like to create more employment opportunities with her farm in rural areas, especially for women and youth.

By attending PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS, Nuriat wants to learn more about managing her business and how to add value to her product. She looks forward to meeting other businesswomen and sharing ideas with those in her field.

Although many people doubted her capability to run a farm as an educated woman, Nuriat has proven successful in her chicken farming business.

NAME: Natacha Kabandana

COUNTRY: Rwanda

BUSINESS: Excel-Corp CSR Center (event planning & decor)

Natacha, 34 years old, co-owns Excel-Corp CSR Center, which specializes in event planning and decoration services.

After opening a lingerie shop, Natacha realized that the business was extremely demanding. She soon attended a business development training, where she started getting ideas for a new business.

In 2008, Natacha started to volunteer as a decoration specialist for events, such as weddings and parties. Through this experience and research, she decided to open her own event planning and decoration firm. Excel-Corp CSR Center currently hires four employees.

By attending PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS, Natacha hopes to learn from other businesswomen – what has worked for them and what hasn’t. She also hopes to further develop her entrepreneurial endeavors and business skills.

NAME: Rose Busingye

COUNTRY: Rwanda

BUSINESS: Creations of Roza (clothing consignment)

Rose, 34 years old, owns Creations of Roza, a clothing consignment shop. Rose began planning ahead by saving her money to start a future business.

After having tragically losing her mother, sister, father, grandparents, aunts and uncles at a young age, Rose began to lose hope in her future, and found it difficult to concentrate on her studies. But her perseverance led her to finish her schooling and go on to study at a university. She says that she learned that even though she may face challenges, endurance, faith and hard work could get her anywhere she wanted to be.

“I always believed that even bad situations can turn into beautiful endings if the attitude is right.”

Rose’s business first started small, delivering clothes to various vendors, but within 18 months she was able to move her business to a storefront. Rose first started purchasing clothing from Uganda, but has since been traveling to and purchasing clothing from Bangkok. Rose learned at an early age how to successfully multi-task, and her travels have opened to eyes to other kinds of business opportunities, including designing and selling her own clothing.

Rose hopes to sell her designs exclusively. Rose truly believes in customer service and the full shopping experience. She always helps her clients make sure they select the best clothing for their body type and age. Rose also makes sure that clients who are shopping for clothing as a gift makes the perfect selection – even if that means referring them to other stores if she doesn’t have the right item in stock.

Rose’s business goals include selling her designs exclusively, hiring more employees, not only for retail but for marketing, advertising, designing and tailoring. She would also like to expand her business to other countries, such as Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi.

Through her PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS training, Rose hopes to learn more about marketing, communication, accounting, building a brand, and how to successfully grow her business.