BUJUMBURA, February 22nd (ABP) – The Ministry of Trade, Transport, Industry and Tourism, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), organized on February 20, 2024, a dialogue for young innovators, entrepreneurs and students of the University of Burundi under the theme, “Innovation and entrepreneurship of young drivers of transformation and development to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals”.
It was also an opportunity to launch a new program called “Moonshot”, for 40,000 young and female entrepreneurs in Burundi financed by UNDP to be carried out in partnership with the investment bank for women’s development (BIDF), the youth investment bank (BIJE) and the PAEEJ.
That dialogue was attended by Mrs. Ahunna Eziakonwa, the Assistant Secretary-General Assistant Administrator and Director of the UNDP Regional Office for Africa and Mrs. Marie Chantal Nijimbere, the Minister of Trade, Transport, Industry and Tourism.
Mrs. Nijimbere indicated, in her speech, that the entrepreneurial and innovative culture is evolving in the country. That is why she called on young people and women innovators to continue to innovate new projects in order to increase production and have access to loan within the BIJE and the BIDF. She took the opportunity to thank UNDP for their support in the entrepreneurial field, while emphasizing that the “Moonshot” program will contribute to poverty reduction and help young innovators in Burundi to improve their knowledge in their projects.
Taking the floor, Mrs. Eziokonwa recalled that UNDP supports young entrepreneurs with the aim of solving the problems they face and which hinder their development. She also called on young innovators to continue their spirit of innovation and creativity, specifying that this new UNDP program will be responsible for supporting and encouraging young innovators in achieving their dreams.
She also recommended to the young people who participated in the dialogue to continue to correctly use the technical and financial support from UNDP, which was given to them with the aim of taking great steps in the field of entrepreneurship. She advised them to work hard in order to present something very appreciable in the future. She called on those young people and women to continue to support the field of entrepreneurship as it is must be capitalized on.
The participating young people and women urged UNDP to create dialogue with other young African entrepreneurs with the aim of exchanging and improving their knowledge. They also asked the UNDP to continue monitoring their projects so that they can have markets for their processed products.
It is worthy to note that Mrs. Ahunna Eziakonwa is on a five-day official visit to Burundi since February 19, 2024, for a mission to meet the different categories of Burundians to discuss development-related issues.