From January 2022 up to December 2023, Caritas Rwanda through its Graduation Project funded by UNHCR has supported over 1600 refugees from Mahama and Kiziba Camp and the host community members by providing them various trainings and the cash grant of Rwf 800,000 (per person) to enable them to start income generating activities. So far 1,493 businesses are operating profitably.
The Graduation project staff conducts post-distribution monitoring on a regular basis to strengthen participant capacity in managing their income-generating activities and ensure that the cash grant provided has been used as planned and presented in their business plans.
During the January-March 2024 post-distribution monitoring, the target participants monitored were 657 from Kiziba (including 235 identified in 2022 and 422 identified in 2023) and 956 identified in Mahama (including 235 identified in 2022 and 721 identified in 2023).
In the Kiziba site, the post-distribution monitoring reached 583 project participants including 186 from Cohort 2022 and 397 from Cohort 2023 who are still running businesses. During the monitoring period, 43 participants (18 from Cohort 2022 and 25 from Cohort 2023) have been resettled in foreign countries; 31 businesses from 2022 have been found failed and stopped working at the monitoring time.
This monitoring reached 944 beneficiaries with their businesses in the Mahama camp and around the camp physically to monitor their income-generating activities and mentor the business owners in collaboration with volunteers. Through monitoring, Project staff can identify areas where project participants may be struggling and guide them to help them improve. This can lead to enhanced performance and increased chances of business success.
In Mahama, 503 trade businesses are well running, 91 livestock businesses are well running, 71 services businesses are well running, 68 vocational activities are well running, 211 agriculture businesses are well running, 7 businesses in the services sector, and one trade sector are weak due to being in the wrong market, bad location, poor management.
In Kiziba, 549 businesses are well-running, 24 are weak, one business stopped, and 9 project participants have been resettled. Well-running businesses in Kiziba are ranged as follow: 136 agricultural businesses, 228 in trading, 44 in services, 56 in vocational activities and 85 in livestock.