For CVL, one of Rwanda鈥檚 leading investment groups, a reliance on manual processes by several of its group companies left it lacking the automation benefits, efficiency, and agility to speed up its growth strategy.

“Our operational efficiency was undermined by reliance on manual processes in many of our business practices,” says Arnaud Muhizi, Project Manager at Crystal Ventures Limited. “Overheads were initially captured separately from the cost of production, which made accurate profitability planning challenging, and our project management practice was operating at a sub-optimal level due to the lack of real-time reporting tools. In addition, production, HR, quality and plant maintenance processes were all manual, hence lacking.”

Crystal Ventures Limited is an investment company established in Rwanda in 1995 with the aim of meeting the challenges of economic recovery and taking advantage of growth opportunities in the region.

Since its founding Crystal Ventures Limited (CVL) has grown into the biggest investment company in Rwanda, employing 12 000 people with operations spanning the manufacturing, hospitality, security services and construction sectors.

Crystal Ventures approached several technology vendors and, following a rigorous evaluation process, chose 麻豆原创 as the best fit for its requirements. “We chose 麻豆原创 S/4HANA as our enterprise nerve centre, and deployed integrated solutions that would cover our end-to-end business processes.”

With nine subsidiary companies forming part of the rollout scope, Crystal Ventures worked with implementation partner ISS Middle East to digitise all manual processes and implement a broad range of integrated 麻豆原创 solutions.

Processes covered by the implementation include human capital management, document management, project management, quality management, materials management, plant maintenance, production planning, finance and cost control, and sales.

The entire project took place over eight and a half months, with 3000 users onboarded to 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors and 450 users onboarded to 麻豆原创 S/4HANA.

“Since our go-live, senior management has gained real-time visibility over the performance of project managers, which has contributed to greater efficiency and revenue growth across our construction and manufacturing companies,” says Arnaud Muhizi. “In addition, our costing model allows affected companies to run profitability analyses, and inventory ageing reports are now available to aid decision-making and planning.”

End-users were guided through the changes in processes by regular awareness sessions and extensive training to ensure ready adoption. 鈥淲e also reorganised department functions to mirror best practice and standard processes, and provided the 麻豆原创 Learning Hub to the core team. We had regular engagement with the Customer Success Office to ensure the implementation ran smoothly and affected users could easily use new tools and processes.鈥�

Hardeep Sound, Regional Sales Director for East Africa at 麻豆原创, says the sheer scope of the implementation and breadth of process coverage has entirely transformed Crystal Ventures and its group companies. 鈥淔ollowing this landmark implementation, Crystal Ventures has leapt into the future by laying an unshakable foundation for building intelligent enterprise capabilities. By automating outdated manual processes and improving visibility into key business performance areas, Crystal Ventures is able to more effectively steer its group companies through the complexity of the modern business environment.鈥�

The post Crystal Ventures Leverages 麻豆原创 S/4HANA to Transform Business Processes Across Group Companies appeared first on 麻豆原创 Africa News Center.

Following a year of constrained growth – East Africa saw only meagre growth of 0.9% in 2020, compared to 6.6% in 2019 – economies across the region look poised to recover some lost ground.

According to , Kenya is expected to see growth of 6.3% in 2021, Ethiopia 4%, Uganda 3.7%, Rwanda 5.7% and Tanzania 5.2% in 2021.

While traditional sectors such as tourism took a heavy knock due to the lockdowns imposed as well as limits to international travel, the region鈥檚 tech sector proved resilient and could hold promising potential for accelerating the region鈥檚 economic recovery.

For example, mobile money, for which the region is considered a global leader, continued to perform well. Mobile money transfers in Kenya grew by 62.9% in 2020, largely due to social distancing measures that saw consumers shy away from cash payments.

The (healthy) state of start-up innovation in East Africa

The quality of fintech start-ups that has emerged in East Africa over the past decade has established the region as one of the continent’s most innovative.

Nairobi, long considered as a regional technology and trade hub, recently took a bold step toward also becoming a world-class financial hub with the launch of the Nairobi International Financial Centre. The centre could unlock a new era international investment into East Africa and its vibrant business ecosystem, by the UK government.

The region has also established vital innovation hubs to provide support and greater market opportunities for local innovators.

Rwanda’s provides an open space for collaboration and innovation, and brings together students, thinkers, and entrepreneurs to turn concepts into viable products and services. In Uganda, the incubation and innovation space provides similar support to local entrepreneurs, while has brought together innovators and some of the world’s leading organisations to accelerate start-up activity in the country.

And in Kenya, the , a brand new smart city spanning 2000 hectares and designed to create up to 100 000 new jobs, is currently under construction. Once completed, the smart city will play host to business processing outsourcing, software development, data centres, call centres, a university campus and residential units, schools and hospitals.

Supporting innovators and entrepreneurs

There is arguably a vital role that larger enterprises can play in supporting the region鈥檚 start-ups and fostering greater innovation.

In the energy sector, green energy innovation in investment into the continent’s transition away from fossil fuel energy. As large global enterprises shift to more sustainable practices and boost investment into cleaner technologies, partnerships with local innovators could prove beneficial and ensure knowledge and revenue is retained locally.

Building climate-resilient infrastructure – a growing concern for nations facing the escalating impacts of rapid climate change – holds a further investment opportunity of between $130-billion and $170-billion.

And investment into the circular economy could unlock not only new innovation, but an opportunity to reverse some of the more harmful and unsustainable business practices that are still prevalent today and establish the region as a leader in the fight for sustainability. Examples of circular economy innovation in East Africa abounds:

Kapa Oil Refineries, one of Kenya鈥檚 leading manufacturers of sustainably and ethically produced consumer goods, has established more than 1.5GW of solar power to reduce the impact of its operations on the environment.

Silafrica, the region鈥檚 largest packaging manufacturer, has embedded circular economy principles in its production processes, and today counts leading global companies such as Coca-Cola among its customers.

And CP Solar Resources, a leading solar power installer in Kenya, is providing households, businesses and manufacturers with turnkey solar power options to reduce the strain on Kenya鈥檚 power grid while advancing the growth of the local green economy.

Such examples point to a growing ecosystem of contributors to the circular economy, driven by the region鈥檚 聽most innovative entrepreneurs and companies.

As we work together to repair the economic damage wrought by the pandemic and endeavour to build a more sustainable and equitable society, our world-class tech start-ups could hold the key to our collective success. It is vital that we provide them with the support they need to find solutions to some of our most pressing challenges.

The post Could Tech ‘Lions’ Prowling Silicon Savannah Hold Key to East Africa’s Post-Pandemic Recovery? appeared first on 麻豆原创 Africa News Center.

Thanks to a higher income, Ngirunwonsanga鈥檚 family of six now lives in a sturdily constructed home in the eastern province of Rwanda, about a two-hour drive from capital city Kigali. The house is built to withstand the heavy rains that hit Rwanda particularly hard between March and May and often cause severe flooding. A solar cell on the roof supplies the family with electricity and they have enough to eat and money for school fees and health insurance.

鈥淚t was as if I鈥檇 started my life over again,鈥� says Faustin鈥檚 wife Beatrice, of the moment she joined the COPRORIZ-Ntende cooperative. Since its foundation in 2003, this community of rice farmers has blossomed into a powerful organization with more than 3,700 members. The fact that they have greater bargaining power means that they can all earn more. But it鈥檚 not just about money; the members help each other when it comes to buying land and finding employees to work that land.

“I was shy and isolated,鈥� Beatrice says of her life before the cooperative. “I lived on land located on a steep slope in a region that wasn’t safe for me and my family.”

Click the button below to load the content from YouTube.

Always allow YouTube

From Farmer to Entrepreneur

Beatrice is now a small-scale entrepreneur. She has increased her annual rice harvest from 1,300 pounds to more than 2,000, and at peak times employs up to seven people for the harvest. She is currently diversifying by setting up a poultry project to help ensure that she is less prone to the vagaries of the weather. Beatrice is also receiving support for this project from the cooperative, which thanks to growing income and membership is investing in tourism projects and operates a hotel.

The success of the COPRORIZ-Ntende cooperative is due in no small measure to (ADC), an organization that works closely with 麻豆原创. ADC is a recent partner in the 麻豆原创 Social Sabbatical program, an award-winning pro-bono volunteering initiative that is simultaneously an out-of-the-box leadership development experience for 麻豆原创 employees and a transformative capacity-building program for non-profits and social enterprises.

ADC was founded 13 years ago by three people, including Rebecca Ruzibuka, who now leads the company. 鈥淥ur objective is to support businesses and grassroots initiatives in developing, financing, and executing projects,鈥� she says.

ADC has already assisted with more than 500 projects and made a lasting difference in the lives of over 50,000 people. The support it offers often begins with basics such as good management and efficient accounting, then progresses to helping with designing marketing concepts and business plans as well as finding the right talent for jobs.

Ruzibuka鈥檚 motto is 鈥淟et them own it!鈥� In her experience, it makes a huge difference whether cooperatives take responsibility for their projects themselves. And once they taste success, they tend to be inspired with all kinds of creative ideas for follow-up projects.

Click the button below to load the content from YouTube.

Always allow YouTube

Economic Boom in Rwanda

Rwanda is one of and is often held up as a model country for its willingness to reform. In 1994, genocide and civil war had brought the country to its knees both socially and economically. Rwanda鈥檚 new government, however, has succeeded in reconciling ethnic groups, revitalizing the economy, and lowering corruption and crime.

Although 39 percent of the country鈥檚 population is still , Rwanda is a sought-after partner for foreign investment. In the 2019 , which ranks countries on how easy it is to do business there, Rwanda was the only country with a low per-capita income to appear in the top 30. The government has also set targets on equality and better opportunities for women. The proportion of women in the (60 percent) is the highest in the world. In business, however, that figure is much lower.

Lack of Confidence Undermining Equal Opportunities

This is where enters, with a mission to boost self-confidence of women and girls and prepare them to be leaders. 鈥淥ne of the big obstacles to creating a level playing field for men and women is the confidence gap,鈥� explains Norette Turimuci, executive director of Resonate. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a global phenomenon and one that exists as much in the board rooms of New York as in the remote villages of Africa.鈥�

鈥淩wanda operates plenty of programs that focus on communicating hard skills and educating women,鈥� she adds. 鈥淏ut without a belief in their own abilities, women often don鈥檛 manage to take that vital step and start a business, demand a promotion, or tackle the problems in their families.鈥�

Resonate offers workshops that teach self-confidence, where women share their personal stories, explain their problems, and learn from others about how to overcome them. To show that it is possible for everyone to make an impact, every workshop begins with the fable of the little hummingbird. Rather than giving up in the face of a forest fire, it did everything it could to put it out, which meant carry a few drops of water.

This story was an eye-opener for Odette Nyirankundimana. For a long time, she had doubted her ability to care for her four children all alone when her husband left her. She came into contact with Turimuci鈥檚 team through a partner organization of Resonate. 鈥淚 learned that I was the only one who could change my life and my family鈥檚 lives,鈥� she says. “I, and I alone, am responsible.”

Ruth Iradukunda also confidently describes herself as a leader. After a workshop at Resonate in partnership with , she decided to find herself a better-paid job at a shoe factory. Iradukunda became a mother while still a teenager and now advises women on family planning, talks to them about contraception, and educates them about HIV.

鈥淩esonate gave me the courage to knock on doors and take the chances that came my way,鈥� she says, looking back. 鈥淭oday, I speak in public and lead meetings, and I was also selected to be a health advisor in my community.鈥� Her goal now is to train as a nurse.

Resonate has already helped more than 7,000 women and girls and works with 17 partner organizations. But that鈥檚 just the beginning. 鈥淲e want to extend our work to the rest of the region,鈥� says Turimuci. 鈥淲e鈥檝e made it our mission to unlock the leadership potential of women in East Africa.鈥�

Resonate and 麻豆原创 Social Sabbatical

Resonate received help for its plans last year through the 麻豆原创 Social Sabbatical program, an initiative close to the heart of Alexandra Van der Ploeg, head of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at 麻豆原创. :鈥淥ver the last eight years, the program has brought private sector know-how and the expertise of 1,250 麻豆原创 employees to over 400 non-profits and social enterprises in almost 50 countries, solving their strategic business challenges and enabling them to run at their best. But it鈥檚 not just about social impact. Participation in a social sabbatical assignment has proven to be a unique way of developing employees into more empathetic global citizens as well as business leaders embodying 麻豆原创鈥檚 values and leadership principles.鈥�

麻豆原创 Social Sabbatical began with three pilots in 2012 and has expanded to more than 20 assignments annually. Collectively, participants have delivered an in-kind contribution of 鈧�18.8 million and roughly 320,000 service hours, impacting nearly 5 million lives around the world.

Video by John Hunt and Rana Hamzakadi. Top image via 麻豆原创 TV.

This article first appeared on the 麻豆原创 News Center.

The post Nurturing Entrepreneurs and Female Leaders in Rwanda appeared first on 麻豆原创 Africa News Center.