A stadium in Rubavu and a hall in Rusizi district's Western Province were filled with over 2000 joyful women from 50 cooperatives who have been conducting formal cross-border trade since 2021. These women successfully completed the trainings on leadership and goal setting, financing business, accountability, re-investments in the business, and how to increase share contributions in their cooperatives among other topics.

Women in Cross border Trade (WICBT) is a project under the National Women’s Council (NWC) that provides support to various women cooperatives through various channels such as capacity building and direct financial support to ensure efficiency and improved effects of informal cross-border trade on women cooperative members. To date, NWC has provided financial support of approximately 253,077,000Frw in 2019,2021, and 2023 to women cooperatives and continuously conducted s monitoring and evaluation on the impact of this project.

Report on assessment of Women in Cross Boarder Trade cooperatives in Rubavu and Rusizi districts Rwanda in 2022 showed Women in cross-border trade contributed significantly towards socioeconomic growth in Rwanda. In this case, NWC seeks to help women in informal cross border to shift from informal cross-border trade to formal cross-border trade; empower women in an informal cross-border in financial literacy and regulatory framework; provide support to women informal cross-border traders form legal cooperatives: support women in informal cross border trade on entrepreneurship skills and market linkages, and increase skills of surrounding population on gender and human rights.

Adela Nyirasinayobye a beneficiary a member of a cooperative that operates poultry trade in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from Rusizi District said “When I look back, it is difficult for me to believe that I had such potential in the formal trade. The training provided me with a great deal of knowledge about my rights, my obligations, and my rights as an individual in society. As a result of this program, my entrepreneurial skills have been elevated to a new level, and I take the opportunity to engage and tell other women about how this program has helped me”.

On her side NWC president Mrs. Bellancille Nyirajyambere saluted the politica will of developing women lead by the President HE Paul Kagame. She also commended the efforts made by MIGEPROF, and partners in supporting this initiative that has continuously provided effective and efficient measures that promote gender equality among women cooperatives engaged in cross-border trade. 

In her remarks, Minister of Gender and Family Promotion Prof. Bayisenge Jeannette urged the cooperatives that received the startup capital support to use it adequately and generate more income to help them continue to grow in development with innovations, use of technology and be excellent and set a good

During a graduation ceremony held on February 16th and 17th, 2023 for Rubavu and Rusizi women respectively, graduates received startup capital cheques of 62,000,000 Rfw for Rubavu cooperatives and 38,000,000 Rwf for Rusizi.