• Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

Official launch of an entrepreneurship and innovation fair for young Burundians

ByWebmaster

Nov 26, 2021

BUJUMBURA November 25th (ABP) – Young Burundians participating in a youth innovation and entrepreneurship fair organized in Bujumbura under the theme: “Innovation, entrepreneurship and youth leadership, driving force of Burundi’s development”, present their talents through development projects in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Communication, Information Technologies and Media, Mr. Anicet Niyongabo, who opened this fair on Tuesday November 23, thanked the government of Burundi for supporting the emergence of intelligent generation, innovative, entrepreneurial and concerned about its future and that of its country. He also thanked the UNDP for its technical and financial support and for its participation in the organization of that fair aimed at discovering the talents of young Burundians.

Mr. Niyongabo did not fail to recall the objectives of the fair, among others, to make youth active in development. Young Burundians must be supported and supported financially and technically in innovation and entrepreneurship by different organizations, he insisted.

For her part, Mrs. Nicole Kouassi, UNDP Resident Representative in Burundi, indicated that innovation has been the engine of major advances in civilization, and that innovation and technology, as engines of change, can make a difference. advance equitable development.

In the majority of countries where UNDP works, Idea Acceleration Labs have been set up to introduce innovation and test local approaches in responses to development challenges, said Mrs. Kouassi, adding that the growth of enterprises allowing sustainable employment, especially for young people, remains a development challenge.

The UNDP resident representative said that in developing and landlocked countries like Burundi, with an economy mainly dominated by agriculture and the informal sector, innovation and technology must be one of the fundamental elements of economic growth.

According to Mrs. Kouassi, the objective of the UNDP in relation to the Burundian youth is to show that the young Burundians are actors and initiators of development of Burundi, and to facilitate the connection of the young people for possible financial partnerships and in the sector of investment.

That five-day fair was organized by the Ministry of Communication, Information Technologies and Media, in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade, Transport, Industry and Tourism and the one with Youth in its responsibilities, with technical and financial support from UNDP.