FAWE Rwanda

What FAWE Rwanda does

FAWE Rwanda is a Rwandan non-governmental, non-profit organization founded in 1997 as the Rwanda chapter of the Pan-African Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE), which maintains 34 chapters across Africa with headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. The organization supports girls' and women's access to education in Rwanda through a portfolio of nine interconnected programs: Scholarship Programs (anchored by a 10-year MasterCard Foundation partnership covering 1,200 girls for secondary and tertiary education), Mentoring via an alumni-volunteer network, Career Guidance and Counseling, an Alumni Network, a Teenage Pregnancy intervention, Gender Responsive Pedagogy teacher training (digitized in 2024), Promotion of STEM for Girls, the Tuseme Model life-skills curriculum, and the Rwanda Career Women's Centre (established 2020 with UN Women support). Beneficiaries total 6,000+ students historically, with 704 documented graduates through the MasterCard program achieving a 75% employment transition rate as of September 2024.

The underlying technology stack is modest and pedagogical rather than product-centric: digital platforms for e-learning, video conferencing for STEM instruction, online mentoring, and the newly digitized Gender Responsive Pedagogy curriculum hosted via an IICBA/UNESCO-affiliated toolkit. Core delivery infrastructure includes 17 partner schools for the scholarship program and two model FAWE Girls Schools at Gisozi and Gahini operating as centers of excellence.

FAWE Rwanda operates a nonprofit revenue model funded entirely by grants and donations from international development partners — MasterCard Foundation, UN Women, Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, Beautiful World Canada Foundation, and the Government of Rwanda — with services provided free of charge to beneficiaries. Go-to-market is community-led: direct engagement with schools, district governments, and local communities; alumni networks; and school-based Tuseme clubs. The Executive Committee is composed of 10 elected members governing the organization, and the documented staff roster totals approximately 16 personnel including program, finance, M&E, and field-officer roles.

Name

FAWE Rwanda

Legal name

FAWE Rwanda Chapter

Website

https://fawerwa.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

FAWE Rwanda is a Kigali-based nonprofit and one of 34 Pan-African FAWE chapters, delivering scholarships, mentoring, gender-responsive pedagogy, STEM promotion, and career-skills programs to disadvantaged girls and young women across Rwanda since 1997.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Non-Profit Educational Services

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Professional and Management Development Training (61143)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

NGO/Nonprofit Education Programs & Service Delivery (EDADALAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Dropout Prevention, Alternative Education & Re-Engagement Nonprofits (BPAGADAL), STEM, Digital Skills & Innovation Partnerships (EDADALAJ)

Keywords

• Girls education programs
• Educational scholarships
• Gender responsive pedagogy
• Women empowerment
• Career mentorship

Headquarters

HQ city

Kigali, Kigali

HQ country

Rwanda

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donor Funding and Grants: FAWE Rwanda operates as a nonprofit organization funded primarily through grants and donations from international development partners, foundations, and government agencies. Major funders include MasterCard Foundation, UN Women, Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, Beautiful World Canada Foundation, and the Government of Rwanda.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

FAWE Rwanda is a non-profit organization providing scholarships, mentorship, career guidance, and gender-responsive educational programs to girls and young women in Rwanda. It operates a portfolio of programs including secondary and tertiary scholarships, the Rwanda Career Women's Centre, alumni mentoring networks, the Tuseme life skills model, and STEM promotion initiatives. Programs are delivered through partnerships with schools, districts, and international foundations, and are provided free of charge to beneficiaries.

Product overview

FAWE Rwanda is a Pan-African educational NGO (one of 34 FAWE chapters across Africa) focused on girls' and women's education in Rwanda. The organization operates a portfolio of interconnected educational programs rather than a traditional software product. These include: Scholarship Programs (the flagship MasterCard Foundation partnership); the Rwanda Career Women's Centre for employability skills; Mentoring and Alumni Network for ongoing support; Career Guidance and Counseling; Gender Responsive Pedagogy training; STEM promotion; Tuseme Model life skills clubs; and teenage pregnancy prevention initiatives. Together these programs form a comprehensive ecosystem supporting girls from secondary education through university graduation and into employment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Rwanda Career Women's Centre: A centre established to improve female participation in the labour force by equipping young women with necessary skills to access employment or create profitable businesses through leadership training, employability skills, entrepreneurship and digital skills, and coaching/mentorship.

Products and services

• Scholarship Programs

Quantifiable outcome

• 704 young women have graduated through MasterCard Foundation partnership
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• Ecorys UKmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024FAWE Rwanda, Malawi, Zambia & Ecorys UK won a contract for Scottish Government's Women & Girls Empowerment Fund, demonstrating regional partnership capability.
• UN Women RwandacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020UN Women Rwanda supported the establishment of Rwanda Career Women's Centre in 2020 with the aim of improving women's participation in the labor market through equipping young women with life skills, employment skills, and entrepreneurship training.
• Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOIF partnered with FAWE Rwanda through the Rwanda Career Women Centre, providing support for training 30 young women and girls in ICT and entrepreneurship to respond to COVID-19 challenges.
• UnicefmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNICEF supported the Tuseme model implementation at FAWE Rwanda, a flagship programme focused on boosting girls' and boys' ability to make good choices, resist negative pressures, and avoid risky behavior.
• Plan International RwandamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlan International Rwanda supported the Tuseme model implementation, contributing to addressing structural roots of gender inequalities through school-based clubs.
• Mastercard Foundation Scholars ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupported Tuseme model implementation in primary and secondary schools as part of comprehensive scholarship support for girls.
• Rwanda National Commission for UNESCO (CNRU)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for STEM Mentoring Camp for secondary school girls, conducted to encourage girls to join Science, Engineering and Technology fields.
• BDF RwandamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) training and Scholars' Entrepreneurship Fund (SEF) support provided to Mastercard Foundation scholars.
• CNF (National Women's Council)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for projects addressing teenage pregnancy through dialogue between teenagers, parents, local authorities, and stakeholders.
• Nyarugenge DistrictminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal government partnership for implementing projects addressing early pregnancy and empowerment of teenage mothers.
• Government of RwandacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Ministry of Education for initiatives including Tech-Enabled STEM Teaching program launch and overall education sector support.
• Hope Iwacu InitiativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership for celebrating International Day of the Girl Child under the MakeWay program.
• Umuri FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for celebrating International Women's Day 2022 under the theme #BreakTheBias in Kayonza District.
• Same Sky FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPhilanthropist group supporting women by providing training to build skills and gain confidence for becoming self-sufficient entrepreneurs. Contributed tools to science students at FAWE Girls School.
• FAWE Africa Regional SecretariatcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent organization providing overall guidance, coordination across 34 African chapters, and support for International Day of the Girl Child celebrations.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• FAWE (Forum for African Women Educationalists): Parent Pan-African organization headquartered in Nairobi coordinating 34 national chapters including FAWE Rwanda. Directly comparable as the umbrella network sharing mission, Tuseme Model curriculum, and advocacy platform for girls' education across Africa.
• Plan International Rwanda: Country office of Plan International already partnering with FAWE Rwanda on the Tuseme Model. Comparable as a girls'-rights-focused NGO delivering education, protection, and youth empowerment programs through partnerships with schools and district governments in Rwanda.
• Camfed (Campaign for Female Education): International nonprofit operating scholarship, mentorship, and alumnae leadership programs for girls in sub-Saharan Africa. Comparable to FAWE Rwanda in targeting disadvantaged girls through secondary-to-tertiary scholarships with documented employment outcomes and alumni networks.
• FAWE Kenya: Sister national chapter of FAWE delivering comparable scholarship, mentoring, and gender-responsive pedagogy programs in Kenya. Direct peer in operating model, donor mix (MasterCard Foundation), and program suite derived from the shared FAWE network.
• Room to Read: Global nonprofit focused on literacy and girls' education across Africa and Asia. Directly comparable in operating country-level programs combining scholarships, life-skills curriculum, and government partnerships to advance girls' educational outcomes.

Broad incumbents

• BRAC Rwanda: Branch of the global development organization delivering education, skills training, and microfinance across Rwanda. Comparable as a multi-program nonprofit serving disadvantaged youth through scholarship-like support, microenterprise training, and partnerships with the Government of Rwanda.
• UN Women Rwanda: UN entity supporting women's economic empowerment and education, current FAWE Rwanda partner. Comparable in operating Rwanda-based programs targeting young women's employability and entrepreneurship through training centers.
• UNICEF Rwanda: UN agency implementing large-scale education, gender, and adolescent development programs in Rwanda and a current FAWE partner. Comparable as a wider-portfolio incumbent operating girls' education initiatives alongside broader child-welfare mandates.

Emerging players

• Kepler (Kigali-based higher education program): Rwanda-based nonprofit higher education program combining scholarships, employability skills, and university partnerships for low-income students. Comparable as a Kigali-headquartered education NGO targeting scholarship-to-employment pathways, partially overlapping with FAWE Rwanda's tertiary cohort mission.
• Girl Rising: Global nonprofit using storytelling, curricula, and partnerships to advance girls' education. Comparable in mission focus on girls' empowerment through education content, advocacy, and partnerships with local educators in low-income countries.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/FAWERwanda
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCb4_nIyUk0LbzepkAYHpWqg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fawerwanda

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about FAWE Rwanda