The Korea Institute for Development Strategy (KDS) visited Kigali, Rwanda, from November 19 to 29 as part of the “Project for supporting Women’s Empowerment in Rwanda (TechSheCan)” funded by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF) of the Republic of Korea. During the visit, KDS officially inaugurated the Project Steering Committee (PSC) in collaboration with its partner ministry, the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion of Rwanda (MIGEPROF), and convened the first regular PSC meeting.
From 2025 to 2027, the Project aims to strengthen young Rwandan women’s economic participation and self-reliance by implementing comprehensive support measures to advance gender equality, including:
▲ gender-responsive vocational training for 700 Rwandan women; ▲ entrepreneurship training and business space support to enhance employment and startup capacities; and ▲ efforts to improve the policy environment for gender-responsive vocational training.
The first PSC meeting, held during the mission, was co-chaired by MOGEF and MIGEPROF, with participation of related ministries and institutions. KDS shared the first-year project progress and agreed with PSC members to regularly discuss key issues and coordination measures, thereby formally establishing a collaborative framework for effective project implementation.
In addition, to mark the inauguration of the PSC, a Korea–Rwanda policy-sharing session was organized to promote an enabling policy environment for women’s empowerment. The Secretary General of the National Women Council (NWC) delivered a presentation on “Gender Equality Promtion and Women Empowerment Journey in Rwanda,” while Dr. Lee Mi-jeong, invited research fellow at KDS, introduced “Korea's Policies on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment.”
Through the inauguration of the PSC and the policy-sharing session, the two countries further clarified directions for cooperation linking women’s empowerment and gender equality policies with vocational training and employment. Building on this momentum, KDS plans to strengthen policy linkage in vocational training, employment, and entrepreneurship support for women, aiming to maximize the effectiveness of thePproject.
