Six thousand lives, changed from the inside out.
This is a handful of them.
Every one of them will tell you the same thing in their own words —
that Akilah didn't hand them a future, it convinced them they could build one.
Here is where that led.
Grace Uwingabire — Class of 2013
Founder, Grace Girls Coalition
Grace grew up where a girl's future was decided for her before she could read — and Akilah convinced her she was allowed to want a different one. Today she runs the Grace Girls Coalition, finding the girls everyone else has written off and staying with them until they believe what she once couldn't: that they are not the future someone assigned them.
Darlène Laure Karamutsa —
Class of 2013
Founder, Isôoko Community Development
Darlene helped launch the Kate Spade factory and its social programmes in Masoro — real jobs and dignity for a rural village — then set out to build something of her own. She founded Isôoko Community Development for the women and girls she grew up beside. She didn't wait for someone to fix her community; she built the thing that would.
"Before Akilah, I often felt worthless. I've since trained more than five hundred people to lead."
Divine Ikirezi Batamuliza, Business Management, 2021 · Resonate
In their own words
"Before joining Akilah, I was shy and often felt worthless. The experience changed my perspective entirely — I began to see my value."
Divine has now trained more than five hundred people in leadership.
Divine Ikirezi Batamuliza
Business Management, 2021
Programs Facilitator, Resonate"I reached this level of my career directly from the foundation I gained at Akilah — without yet pursuing further studies. If I could achieve this with only a diploma, I can only imagine how much more I'd have gained with more."
Yves Ndihokubwayo
Information Systems, 2023
Technical Support Engineer, MicrosoftSue-Elen won the Founders' Award, registered her own consultancy, and introduced the first cage football game in Rwanda. Her winning student pitch turned waste into home décor.
Sue-Elen Ochanda
Business Management, 2022
Founder, Cornerstone Consultancy Services
Trainer, Great Lakes Hospitality Institute"It was because of Akilah that I had my very first airplane experience — straight to a job. I have become a confident woman and a great mother, something I never imagined I could be."
Josiane Atsu Gumunyibuke
Hospitality Management, 2013
Former Front Office Supervisor, Marriott, UAEPeggy leads a team of thirty. She championed a Bachelor's degree in Hospitality Management at Mount Kenya University, and proposed the training hotel that became Kigali Paramount Hotel.
"Serve with patience and passion — when service comes from the heart, it creates opportunity and dignity."
Peggy Umutoni Rusine
Hospitality Management, 2013
Hospitality Coordinator & Restaurant Manager, Dream Medical Hospital"A few days before graduation, I walked into a hotel to ask about an internship. The moment they saw I had studied at Akilah, they offered me one on the spot."
That became a job, a permanent contract, and a promotion.
Ruth Tuyishimire
Hospitality Management, 2022
Working aboard a cruise shipGloria is building a programme supporting teenagers reintegrating into society after incarceration.
"Akilah encouraged me to think entrepreneurially and to approach challenges with resilience."
Gloria Nishimwe Mugisha
Business Management, 2022
Founder, mental-health initiativeRecruited by HULT EF before she had even graduated, Fida now studies in France on a government scholarship.
"Akilah taught us to embrace challenges, think creatively, and push forward."
Fida Umwali
Hospitality Management, 2020
Pursuing a Master's in Tourism in France"Akilah shaped me into the best version of myself — more self-aware, confident, and capable." Clemence led an employee programme that lifted collaboration across her organisation.
Clemence Sarusaro Mugorenuyu
Business Management, 2021
Human Resources leaderA proud Burundian woman with a disability, Bernadette now champions inclusion for women across the region.
"It helped me see my identity as a source of strength rather than limitation.”
Bernadette Niyoyitungira
Hospitality Management, 2017
Disability-inclusion advocate, BurundiJoyeuse builds a company reimagining interior design through handcrafted products.
"Akilah did not only prepare me for a career — it prepared me for leadership, purpose, and lifelong growth."
Joyeuse Uwitonze
Entrepreneurship
CEO & Managing Director, Joymax LtdGrace left a job at Tek Experts to build a construction-supervision system full-time. "Akilah gave me the courage to take on new challenges and pursue bold ideas."
Grace Igiraneza
Information Systems, 2023
Entrepreneur, Jasiri Investor Program"Akilah inspired me to find solutions to challenges and to view them as opportunities."
SHAMI Nyinawumuntu Chantal
Entrepreneurship, 2017
Trainer & Support Lead, Rwanda Organization of Persons with Disabilities and Wheelchair UsersA single mother who joined unable to afford the fees, Anastasie has spent ten years at Akilah, rising from a junior role to leading alumni programmes. She is living proof of how far a graduate can go when given the chance to lead.
Anastasie Kakuze
Hospitality Management, 2019
Institute Programmes & Alumni Lead, AkilahFrom the wider Akilah network
Aurore Kamikazi | Sustainable Growers with 50,000+ women coffee farmers
Nadine Rucinga | Burj Khalifa, Dubai
Esther Mbabazi | UN Women
Fabien Sibomana | Founder, T-Best
