Entrepreneurship study for self-reliance in emergency and host communities of Rwanda

The entrepreneurship has become the one of mechanism of building economies; the present study Entitled Entrepreneurship Study for Self-Reliance in Emergency and Hos Communities had aim to answer five key sets of questions around: [1] the current Livelihoods options and income pattern (including distribution of income by sources); [2] Current expenditure pattern and distribution of expenditures by major items/sectors; [3] the extent to which refugees and their host communities have deficit in meeting basic needs under current income/expenditure pattern; [4] the refugee aspirations in relation to livelihoods towards a thriving live; and [5] the current challenges and barriers to pursue livelihoods activities and economic inclusion. The study used a participatory approach to collect qualitative data through focus group discussions and key informant interviews with refugees, relevant government authorities, NGO staff and the private sector actors. The findings indicated that humanitarian assistance, in form of cash-based intervention, contributes 74% of refugees' total income, supplemented by small business (8.2%), agriculture (6.3%), jobs (4.1%), savings (3.8%), remittances (0.7) and others (3.2). In terms of expenditures, most camp-based refugees and the surrounding host community members spend their income on food (58%), cooking and lighting energy (14.8%), clothing (11.9%), transport and communication (4.8%), education (3.7%), saving & investment (1.1%) and others (5.7%). While the rate of households that cannot afford basics needs varies depending on location, on average, more than 13% of all campbased refugees and 6.3% of urban refugees are extremely vulnerable and lack the capacity to engage in income-generating activities. The various challenges raised range from insufficient support to the quality of the projects of the implementing organizations. The study recommended the implementation of projects that focuses on provision of access to market-based TVET and start-up capital/kits.