Equity Bank Rwanda has extended its signature mentorship and leadership development programmes to Rwanda including 'Wing to Fly'.
Under the Equity Group Foundation’s education and leadership development pillar, the bank selected 32 top-performing male and female students across different districts where it has a presence.
They were selected based on the senior six national leaving examination results obtained from the National Examination and Schools Inspection Authority (NESA).
They will form the first cohort of ELP beneficiaries in Rwanda bringing the total number of beneficiaries within East Africa to 17,072 since the inception of the program. It includes graduates from Equity’s bespoke secondary school scholarship program, Wings to Fly.
Equity Group holdings MD, CEO and executive chairman of the Equity Group Foundation, James Mwangi said that through the ELP programme, the group has identified close to 7, 000 of the most gifted boy and girls who have graduated secondary school.
“We nurtured them through paid internship work experience, coaching and mentorship while supporting their transition to the best local and global universities as we prepare them to enter the world of work,” Mwangi said.
The initiative has been uniquely designed to offer the 32 scholars an opportunity to apply for admission and full financial aid at global universities through admission into the College Counselling program that runs for three months.
It is aimed at exposing them to the global universities’ admissions process.
“Equity Bank is excited to continue impacting lives and livelihoods here in Rwanda by implementing efficient and productive programs that can sustainably create change,” Equity Bank Rwanda managing director Hannington Namara said.
He added that they intend to leverage their banking infrastructure to connect the youth, farmers, MSMEs, women and communities to educational, health and economic opportunities, tools and technologies that will promote personal progress and wealth creation.
In addition to the skills training, ELP aims to empower young academically gifted scholars through mentorship and leadership development.
It is also keen on spurring personal and professional development, creativity, innovation, and community engagement amongst the scholars thus molding them into forward-thinking young professionals with an ethical focus on giving back to their communities.
