Akilah Institute

Akilah transforms the lives of young women by empowering them with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to find meaningful employment and to serve as leaders in their communities.

The Akilah Institute

The Akilah Institute for Women is a college for young women in Kigali, Rwanda.  Akilah has developed an innovative model which emphasizes leadership development, practical training, and entrepreneurial skills. Akilah currently offers a two-year diploma in Hospitality Management. Degrees in Agricultural Sciences and Business Management & Entrepreneurship will be offered in 2012. Many students are survivors of the 1994 genocide which ripped apart the country for 100 days. Young Rwanda women grew up as survivors, without the guidance of elders or mentors, forging their own paths.

In 2012, the Akilah Institute will move from its current location in Kigali to a beautiful 90-acre campus in Bugesera District. Plans are under way for an eco-lodge, dormitories, and social enterprises. Find out more about Akilah online at www.AkilahInstitute.org.

Meet Our Students

Akilah opened in February 2010. There are currently 80 students at Akilah, ages 18-25. These young women are part of the generation that has suffered the consequences of the 1994 genocide. They were children during the conflict, and many of them lost their parents and siblings. A third of them are the heads of their households.

Eighty-six percent of Akilah students have held leadership positions, including the President of an Orphans Association, the President of an Anti-AIDS club, the leader of a local neighborhood government, and a Sunday school teacher. Currently, 90% of Akilah students have part-times or internships in hotels, restaurants, and tourism companies in Rwanda, the U.S. and Hong Kong.

Meet our Blue Class, Green Class and Yellow Class.

Akilah Institute Goals for 2020

• Graduate 1,780 young women who are working and serving as leaders in their communities
• Grow the student population to 1,000 students living on campus every year
• Add Diploma programs in Sustainable Agriculture and Business Management & Entrepreneurship
• Create a self-sufficient campus that can fund operational costs through campus social enterprises including agriculture and an eco-lodge
• Close the gender gap in start-up and expansion of women-owned small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Rwanda
• Recruit students from Central and Eastern Africa