WHY RWANDA?

So I had a fun-packed weekend with guests from out of town. It included a bachelorette party, Pakistani food, manicures, and more. I wish I could say this is the norm for my weekends, but I am just not that cool.

While out and about there seems to be a common question about the trip, “Why Rwanda?”

I would like to tell you that I have had a life-long dream to work with entrepreneurs in Rwanda. However, I had to look for them on a map after deciding to go. What committed me to the project was a 5-minute conversation with Dave Ormesher, co-founder of Global Relief and Development Partners (GRDP) and identifying a possibility to be useful and create impact.
Our own country is in the process of change. My boss once pointed out that we are currently in the process of writing history for the United States and the world. And when history is being written it’s never a comfortable feeling since the implication is we don’t know what the outcome will be. He was referring to the current global market.

For Rwanda, the future pages of their history books are up in the air as well. Currently, there is a strong government force, a large labor market, minimal resources, a tiny upper class, and a fledgling middle class, yet a commitment from the population for a bigger future and change for the better. Also, U.S. entrepreneurs, through GRDP, have been working with the entrepreneurs to aide the growth of their middle class for years and this is where I saw an opportunity to sponsor growth and create impact.


The work GRDP has been doing has been both successful and challenging. They strive to systemize and build strategy that works, while eliminating anything that hinders growth. GRDP would like to create and replicate what works. A very simple strategy that I have seen successful entrepreneurs use to grow their business and create value.

Change, like much of the globe is currently experiencing, creates opportunity. The status quo comes into question and we have seen in the U.S., for example, that creates shifts in political strategy, changes in personal habits, and the rewriting of corporate doctrine. Due to the Rwandan genocide massacres they have been in a transition of change for many years, GRDP has been supporting growth within their system for three years. This means we can learn from their growth while they grow from our experience, hence the title of this blog…sponsoring growth.