by James Gashumba
KIGALI, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- With carefully plaited hair and a wrist watch, Marie Merci Fannie Nsengiyumva looked confident in a brown t-shirt and black trousers.
The certified coffee barista working at a cafe in Rwanda's capital Kigali cheerfully scooped some roasted coffee beans from a container which she poured into a machine.
Within minutes, she served coffee to customers of the cafe in tiny white coffee cups, suffusing aroma.
The 23-year-old chose a career in tourism sector to be trained as a coffee barista two years ago. Before that, she had studied mathematics, economics and geography in high school.
After her university dream collapsed, she heard about a government program Hanga Ahazaza initiative, which was launched in 2018 to support small businesses in the tourism and hospitality sector among other areas through increased access to financial services and business development skills.
Nsengiyumva learned about coffee through informal barista training sessions provided by the initiative supported by the MasterCard Foundation. Due to her work ethics she stood out from the crowd.
Since attending the barista academy, she has not only gained confidence in her role as a barista but has also grown in her role to lead coffee tasting master classes and farm tours in the country, she said.
While some of her peers thought it was strange for a girl to be a coffee barista, she didn't flinch.
To succeed in life one needs confidence and determination, said Nsengiyumva.
"To be frank in the beginning I didn't love this job that much. But I have now found a new passion in training. I'm expecting to earn an international training designation which will help me to continue the work of the Hanga Ahazaza initiative in the years to come," she said.
"I learned different skills including introduction to coffee, intermediate barista and now I'm doing professional barista course," she added.
Vincent Gashema, a student of Rwanda's Vatel Hotel and Tourism Business School, started a tourism company after being supported by the Hanga Ahazaza.
The student of International Hotel Management is the proprietor of a tour company, which aims at engaging local communities in tourism-based activities while promoting domestic tourism.
The 23-year old said after getting hospitality training he realized the sector has many job opportunities and offers required skills to create own business.
The former tour guide was equipped with knowledge of hospitality, tourism and exposure after receiving initial training provided under the initiative, and started his own company which does group and single travel guiding in the country.
Hanga Ahazaza program is helping government improve professionalism and service delivery in tourism and hospitality sector, said Emmanuel Nsabimana, the head of tourism regulation department at Rwanda Development Board.
"Coffee is one of the most loved drinks in hotels so professional baristas are still needed because making a good coffee is not easy. There are few professional baristas in the country," he said.
Since March 2018, the initiative has reached more than 3,000 young people, and the goal is having 30,000 young Rwandans trained.
