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Davis College Rwanda Sign MOU for Training Female Graduates in the UAE

by Eddie Rayner

Evolvin’ Women, a social enterprise dedicated to the advancement of women in developing countries, has announced the signing of an MOU with Davis College in Kigali, Rwanda, for a pool of female graduates to attend a training programme in the UAE that will set them up for successful careers in the hospitality, retail and wellness sectors.

Running from December 2021, the partnership will target Davis College female alumni who have been unemployed for over one year due to circumstances beyond their control. The partnership will include the availability of a training space for the interview and selection of participants at Davis College over a 12-month period. Davis College will also be providing laptops and WIFI on the school premises for successful candidates to hold interviews with potential employing hotels in the UAE.

In addition, Davis College will be working closely with Evolvin’ Women on a social media campaign to raise awareness about the programme in view of attracting the eligible graduates, as well as private and public sectors stakeholders, and potential funders to further support the women on their journey to finding job placements following their training.

A key catalyst to the fruition of this partnership was the facilitation provided by H.E. Emmanuel Hategeka, Ambassador of the Republic of Rwanda to the UAE, and Edouard Bizumuremyi, Minister Counsellor of the General Consulate of the Republic of Rwanda in Dubai, UAE.


Running from December 2021, the partnership will target Davis College female alumni


Assia Riccio, Founder of Evolvin’ Womensaid: “This is a very important endorsement for us, and we are hoping to continue our fruitful relationship with Rwanda Development Board and the Rwanda Mission in the UAE in order to create a lasting change in the lives of young women in Rwanda. As a result of our partnership with Davis College and the unmatched support from our contacts in the Embassy and Consulate, we now have 60 young women enrolled in our programme, and we look forward to scaling this even further.”

Upon several occasions, diplomats from the Rwanda Mission in the UAE met with Evolvin’ Women after being referred by the Rwanda Development Board, to ensure that the programme candidates from Davis College have a smooth transition to the UAE; as well as to solidify what will later become a long-standing relationship, encouraging more training of young women to join the workforce and take back much needed skills to their communities.

A series of meetings took place between Evolvin’ Women and the Rwanda Mission in the UAE ahead of the MoU signing with Davis College. These included an initial visit by Edouard Bizumuremyi, Minister Counsellor of the General Consulate of the Republic of Rwanda, to the Evolvin’ Women offices in the premises of Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), where the parties met with Evgeny Garanin, Manager of Public Affairs, and Nour Nasser Al Marzooqi, Sustainability Executive, both the representatives of DMCC. DMCC is also a partner, and a sponsor of Evolvin’ Women.


”We now have 60 young women enrolled in our programme”


A second meeting was conducted, which included the introduction of one of Evolvin’ Women’s participants from Ghana, Selma Quainoo, who joined the programme in March 2018 and has been working in the Food & Beverage sector at Swissotel Al Ghurair and Sofitel Dubai The Obelisk by Accor since her arrival. Selma, who recently completed the programme in Dubai and is joining Ibys Style Accra, shared her experience with the members present as a testament to the success of the programme.

A third meeting was a visit to Evolvin’ Women education partner, Amity University, by Shazia Habib, Incubation Centre Manager, in which the members spent one hour with three of Evolvin’ Women’s participants who were attending a course on social entrepreneurship.

Finally, during their fourth meeting, Edouard Bizumuremyi met Marc Descrozaille, Chief Operating Officer of Accor Middle East & Africa, who presented their interest, as well as the benefits of working with Evolvin’ Women in Rwanda in view of expanding the programme reach and attracting new candidates.