Sharpen your financial acumen, Jeanette Kagame tells women

First Lady Mrs. Jeannette Kagame on speaking at a meeting organized on the sidelines of the COMESA Heads of State and Government Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

First Lady Mrs. Jeannette Kagame has said that it would make a difference if women could begin sharpening their financial acumen and building a healthy relationship with money, by understanding basic concepts of financial planning, economics and entrepreneurship early on.

The First Lady made the call in a meeting for First Ladies organized on the sidelines of the Comesa Heads of State and Government Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The meeting was hosted by Ethiopian First Lady Roman Tesfaye to discuss the economic empowerment of women.

At the meeting, Mrs. Kagame said that financial inclusion should be on the global agenda to enable women access tools for financial success which is a critical step to overall empowerment.

Rwanda’s first lady explained that the financial sectors in many countries are still hostile for women, a fact that has negative effects on the advancement of women to private sector leadership and unpleasant implications for female entrepreneurs’ access to capital.

The forum was held under the theme, “Economic Empowerment of Women: A key to inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development.”

Jeannette explained that in Rwanda every year through Imbuto Foundation and other partners they motivate girls to excel at school by awarding those who have done well in national examinations.

“This social mobilization campaign sensitizes the community, parents, teachers, civil society, boys and local leaders to collectively support girls’ education; today over 3,000 girls have been recognized and supported”.

She added the Rwandan government encourages girls to perform well at school through various forums which imparts financial knowledge on saving, spending and investing.

The First Lady noted that even as Rwanda has put more political will and support from civil society, Rwandan women still face challenges with respect to financial inclusion.

The first lady called on women empowerment stakeholders to avoid using African cultures and ways of life as excuses to miss out on opportunities to achieve economic success.

“Rwanda’s leadership has been clear and consistent about placing women at the heart of the national agenda and considers gender a cross-cutting pillar in all sectors of the economy,” she concluded.