An Invitation to Engage and Make a Difference
Bigger Future is looking for experienced entrepreneurs who desire a hands-on mentorship role in developing sustainable, business-oriented solutions in Rwanda.
Doing business in Rwanda is not easy, but for an enterprising entrepreneur the opportunities are many. Rwandan business owners know they have a unique chance to build a vibrant economy, and they are looking for fellow entrepreneurs who are willing to partner and share their experience and wisdom.
The Bigger Future program is a comprehensive quarterly training and coaching experience designed to connect small groups of seasoned entrepreneurs directly with the leadership of high-potential small and medium-size businesses in Rwanda. Through formal and informal experiences, Bigger Future mentors will work together to:
- Build the professional, managerial, and technical capacity of Rwandan entrepreneurs to more effectively build sustainable businesses
- Establish and equip a talent pool of Rwandan leaders and entrepreneurs committed to good governance and economic growth
- Provide unique and direct opportunities to transfer skills and jointly create new market development opportunities that provide lasting growth
- Participate in a powerful experience platform to create your own vision for blending your entrepreneurial and humanitarian commitments
Bigger Future mentors participate in a week-long set of experiences in Rwanda to engage with the entrepreneur community, participate in workshop programs, and begin to build personal relationships with growth-oriented Rwandan business owners.
This is a transformational experience that will change the way you think about your life, your career, and the world.
How you can participate
Each quarterly workshop often includes experienced entrepreneurs or executives from outside of Rwanda, generally from North America and Europe. These executives play an important role in the workshop and will often build strong connections with a few Rwandan entrepreneurs that will become opportunities to mentor, coach, and develop into personal relationships.
If you have a successful business and can articulate your unique business process, you may be qualified to get personally involved in Bigger Future and the life and economy of Rwanda. We invite you to submit an application or contact us with questions.
For more information on the travel experience or to download a travel brochure, see below.
TRAVEL INFORMATION
Introduction and Immersion
We start your week with an orientation to the recent history of Rwanda. You will visit the Genocide Memorial Museum in Kigali, a comprehensive and emotional overview of the 1994 genocide. After a light lunch you will travel south of Kigali through the beautiful countryside to a small town called Nyamata, the site of a church where several thousand Rwandese were massacred. We will reflect and discuss what we saw and heard over dinner with a Rwandan leader involved in reconciliation efforts.
You will visit the offices and work sites of businesses involved in Bigger Future, experience Rwandese art and culture, and sample its fresh cuisine.
The bigger future program
On Monday, we schedule “field visits” to a few businesses to check on their progress and give you a feel for business on the ground. The Year One workshop meets on Tuesday and the Master’s Program meets on Wednesday. On Thursday morning, we schedule a series of 45-minute one-on-one “speed dating” consulting sessions with many of the entrepreneurs. This offers you the opportunity to help diagnose specific challenges and apply your business insight directly to Rwandese businesses.
You will also have the opportunity to participate in the workshop sessions, including presenting a 45-60 minute module in an area of your expertise.
Tracking mountain gorillas
For those wishing to extend their trip an extra two days, we highly recommend an excursion to Virunga National Park for one of the greatest wildlife experiences on earth. Accompanied by an experienced tracker, you will trek for 1-4 hours through dense mountain jungle to spend an hour with a family of mountain gorillas, one of the most endangered species in the world. Less than 700 mountain gorillas are alive today, all located in this high mountainous region bordering Uganda and the DRC.
A side trip to Lake Kivu can be included in this excursion where you can stay at the beautiful Lake Kivu Serena Hotel.
your travel itinerary
Our recommended way to get to Rwanda is through Brussels or Amsterdam via KLM or Brussels Air. Our program begins on Saturday night in Kigali, so we will ensure you arrive in one of the gateway European cities by early Saturday morning to catch the non-stop to Rwanda. A typical Bigger Future trip begins in the United States on a Friday afternoon, arriving in Kigali by Saturday evening.
Accommodations
Upon arrival in Kigali, you will be met by Cyusa Leandre, Bigger Future’s Country Representative. He will transfer you to the Kigali Serena Hotel, an elegant international hotel in the center city. After checking in you will have the chance to freshen up before gathering together again for a light supper at the hotel. During supper we will introduce the entire team, review the itinerary for the week, and answer any questions.
The Serena Hotel offers many five-star amenities including a fitness club, spa, swimming pool, a business center, and two restaurants. You will enjoy its warm hospitality.
Rwanda Contact person
Cyusa Leandre
Country Director
Bigger Future
Application process
If you are interested in joining us on an upcoming workshop trip, please download an application from our website and return it with a US$1,000 deposit. Applications and deposits need to be received at least 30 days prior to departure.
Within 30 days of departure you should visit your local hospital travel center to get your yellow fever shot and review any other recommended vaccinations for other diseases such as malaria.
There will be pre-trip conference call two weeks before the trip to review the itinerary and answer any last-minute questions.
Participant experiences
“For those of us who really like to build and transform and create, Rwanda is just absolutely sitting there, ready. Rwanda is saying don’t give us food, teach us how to fish, and they’re doing this from an entrepreneurial point of view.”
Danny O’Neil, owner
The Roasterie
“We thought we were going there to help some poor disenfranchised people but found we had more to learn from them.”
Amy Sailer, TV producer
Seeing is Believing
“Every time I go, I come back more enriched. I grow more than I ever expected, and anything I’ve ever done, I’ve received way more in return.”
Betty Schlachter, owner
Jones Bros. Jeweler
