Celebrating the achievements of the Financial Literacy project in Burundi

The project "Financial Literacy Training for the Women's Investment Club WIN in Burundi" came to an end on 14 October 2022. To celebrate the achievements of the project, a closing event was held on this day in Bujumbura, Burundi, on behalf of WIN and other stakeholders.

Over the past year MSM has closely collaborated with Women Invest (WIN) to capacitate the women that are part of the WIN network with the skills and knowledge to support their financial literacy. To celebrate the success of the TMT project, a celebratory event was held.

The event started with welcoming speeches of MSM’s Project Director Dr. Huub Mudde and Ms. Sigejeje Pamela, President of WIN. Dr. Mudde emphasized the work that was carried out during the project and the pleasure of working with a group of very committed women, eager to learn, eager to live their dream of helping young people to start-up a business.

Ms. Sigejeje shared that the training sessions on financial education were eye-opening, and very much needed at that stage of WIN, where the group was trying to identify focus areas and targets. Ms. Sigejeje also took the opportunity to present the new mission of WIN, which was sharpened during the last training session. She proudly shared that it’s WIN’s mission to be the first women-led investment fund with a focus on closing financing and management gaps in women's investment and entrepreneurship by women in Burundi region. This mission strongly supports the goal of the network to create wealth by investing in innovative businesses, especially those run by and for women.

As a network, WIN seeks to address funding and management gaps by providing finance to start-up businesses. At least 80% of the businesses they fund are gender-biased, meaning that the business can be a woman-owned business or a business that is focused on the needs of women, or they are supporting restructuring businesses that are struggling financially, and need improvement of management and leadership skills.

To enthuse the audience, WIN ended its presentation with the launch of its website, which is another achievement of this project. The website was presented by the Vice President of WIN, Aniella Niyondiko.

During this event, we were also honored to welcome representatives of various institutions, including Mr. Gérard Muringa of the Dutch Embassy in Burundi, Mr Dieudonné Ndayshimiye from the University of Burundi, and Mr Jesper de Wit from SPARK, were present.

Mr Gérard Muringa, representative of the Dutch Embassy in Bujumbura, gave a speech where he thanked WIN members for their effective and qualitative participation in the financial literacy trainings since 2021. He expressed his support for WIN's vision, which is to establish an "investment fund" that will be able to finance individual or collective projects and the projects of other entrepreneurs (mainly women) who currently have difficulties accessing finance. He expressed his gratitude and assured that he would support such initiatives, especially those initiated by women. "We are aware that you are the true agents of development in this country, despite some cultural and legal ambiguities, for which your current commitment is undoubtedly a solution."

The closing event was also used as an opportunity to strengthen the commitment of those involved in the project. In addition, this opportunity was taken to spread the word about WIN's mission to close the gender gap in investment and entrepreneurship and to refer them to more network partners.

About the project
The one year TMT training "Financial Literacy Training for a Women Investment Club in Burundi" was specifically designed to meet the needs of WIN, a women-led organisation.  It aimed to increase and improve the financial literacy of women members and to help to develop an investment strategy and an investment plan for WIN.

During 2022, four tailored training sessions (TMT) were conducted by MSM finance and accounting experts on financial system, investment and fundraising, and by the MSM gender expert on gender lens investing.

This project aimed to improve WIN's knowledge and skills in finance and investment. Initially, the WIN team had limited knowledge in the area of financial literacy. Financial literacy plays a critical role in financial inclusion, inclusive growth and sustainable prosperity.

About WIN – Women Invest
Closing the gender gap in investment and entrepreneurship
WIN is a women-led initiative with currently 57 members. It consists of a diverse network with women from all fields of work (entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs, lawyers, doctors, accountants, pharmacists, engineers, etc.). WIN is characterized by at least five (5) years of commitment and consistency and by the pursuit of financial freedom for women, female investors and entrepreneurs.

WIN’s motivation for this project was the will to strengthen women's capacity to invest. It aimed to develop a comprehensive investment training program to develop world-class financial and investment decision-making skills and learn how to voice their opinions on investment issues.

Collaborating with an MSM alumnus
On this project, MSM was also working together with MSM MBA alumnus Alain Nkurikiye who was the first Burundian to graduate at MSM. He had an active role as a local consultant who is specialized in investment and entrepreneurship both in Burundi and internationally. Alain Nkurikiye is founder and CEO of Wajenzi - Building an Entrepreneurial Society in Africa with an Impact Driven Community.

Orange Knowledge Programme
This project is part of the Orange Knowledge Programme (OKP) which is funded by the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and managed by Nuffic. For more information click here.

MSM's Expert Centre on Emerging Economies

This project is part of MSM's Expert Centre on Emerging Economies. The department is an expert centre on local economic development in emerging and developing markets.​ We capacitate managers and professionals from government, private sector, NGOs, and post-secondary education in Africa, Asia, Middle East, and Latin America. We offer consultancy and customized training programs, and we manage complex projects in key sectors, e.g. water, agriculture and health. For more information click here.

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