Akilah Institute

The Akilah Institute was founded in 2008 by Elizabeth Dearborn Hughes and Dave Hughes. Elizabeth Hughes moved to Rwanda after graduating from Vanderbilt University in 2006. After volunteering with several grassroots initiatives, she co-founded Amani Africa to provide scholarships to street children.{{Cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/devinthorpe/2014/04/30/2653/#4ed9feff67e8|title=Akilah Institute Serves African Women|last=Thorpe|first=Devin|newspaper=Forbes|access-date=2016-12-17}}

Dave Hughes joined the program as a volunteer. The two strategized on ways to link Rwandan women with long-term employment opportunities. In 2008, they developed the model for Akilah Institute.{{cite news |last1=Bearden |first1=Michelle |title=Tampa woman determined to make a difference in Rwanda |url=http://www.tbo.com/news/tampa-woman-determined-to-make-a-difference-in-rwanda-256268 |access-date=2019-12-26 |work=The Tampa Tribune |date=8 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930003824/http://www2.tbo.com/news/faith/2011/sep/08/tampa-woman-determined-to-make-a-difference-in-rwa-ar-256268 |archive-date=2011-09-30 |url-status=dead}}

The institute officially opened in Kigali, Rwanda, in January 2010 with a diploma in Hospitality Management.{{cite news|author=Nisha Chittal |url=http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/how-elizabeth-dearborn-hughes-started-the-first-womens-college-rwanda |title=How Elizabeth Dearborn Hughes started the first women's college in Rwanda |publisher=MSNBC |access-date=2016-12-16}} Fifty students enrolled in the first class.{{cite news|last=Gahigi |first=Moses |url=http://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/article/2010-02-07/80999/ |title=Hospitality training centre opened - The New Times | Rwanda |publisher=The New Times |date=2010-02-07 |access-date=2016-12-16}} In 2012, the institute introduced a diploma in Entrepreneurship. Two years later, it launched an Information Systems diploma.http://www.akilahinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Press-Kit-Web.pdf{{Dead link|date=May 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Akilah's mission is ''to offer a market-relevant education that enables young women to achieve economic independence and obtain leadership roles in the workplace and in society.” The curriculum is designed in partnership with local employers and the Rwandan government. Academic majors are selected according to regional market needs.

The Akilah Institute currently has 1,100 students and 990 graduates. The institute has a 93% retention rate, and 88% of graduates find jobs within six months of graduation.{{cite web |url=http://www.akilahinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Annual-Report-2015-2016.pdf |title=Report Digital for email |access-date=2016-12-16 }}{{Dead link|date=May 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

In January 2014, Akilah expanded to Burundi and opened the first women's college in the country.{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/devinthorpe/2014/04/30/2653/#e517557154b2 |title=Akilah Institute Serves African Women |work=Forbes.com |access-date=2016-12-16}} In April 2015, the campus was closed due to political instability in the country. Forty-four Burundian students were transferred to Akilah's Kigali campus.{{cite web|url=http://english.akeza.net/akilah-institute-burundi-closed-a-few-students-on-kigali-campus/ |title=www.akeza.net – Akilah Institute Burundi closed, a few students on Kigali Campus |publisher=English.akeza.net |date=2015-12-16 |access-date=2016-12-16}}

Akilah is funded primarily through a combination of contributions and grants. Other funding sources include student tuition, in-kind donations, and special events.

In 2012, Akilah partnered with Marriott International to introduce a hospitality training program for graduates at Marriott hotels in Dubai and Doha. Since the program's start, dozens of Akilah alumnae have relocated to the Middle East to participate in the program.{{cite web|author=Jennifer Mattson |url=https://mic.com/articles/158114/rwanda-reborn-brought-to-you-by-women#.11CvpQuzr |title=Rwanda reborn, brought to you by women |publisher=Mic |date=2016-10-31 |access-date=2016-12-16}} Marriott hired 23 Akilah graduates to staff its Kigali Marriott Hotel, which opened in 2016.

In 2015, Akilah formed Rwanda's first all-female college debate team. The team won a countrywide competition the same year.{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/07/29/487360094/invisibilia-no-one-thought-this-all-womans-debate-team-could-crush-it |title=Rwanda Is The No. 1 Country For Women In Power But They Still Face Challenges In Daily Life : Goats and Soda |publisher=NPR |date=2016-07-29 |access-date=2016-12-16}} In October 2015, Akilah hosted the first National Inter-University Female Debate Championship.{{cite news|url=http://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/article/2015-11-03/194043/ |title=UR College of Science wins first all-female inter-university debate - The New Times | Rwanda |publisher=The New Times |date=2015-11-03 |access-date=2016-12-16}}

In January 2015, Akilah founder Elizabeth Dearborn Hughes launched MindSky (formerly AkilahNet) with the co-founder Anastasia Uglova as part of the Akilah Group, a collection of social enterprises with a focus on education, technology, and employment. MindSky is an online talent platform that matches employers with job seekers in East Africa.{{cite news|last=Palacio |first=Ana |url=http://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/article/2016-10-16/204480/ |title=We connect employers to pre-screened professionals, says MindSky's Uglova - The New Times | Rwanda |publisher=The New Times |date=2016-10-16 |access-date=2016-12-16}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.akilahinstitute.org/ akilahinstitute.org]
• [http://www.mindsky.com mindsky.com]

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Category:Universities and colleges in Rwanda

Category:Women's universities and colleges

Category:Educational institutions established in 2010

Category:2010 establishments in Rwanda

Category:Education in Kigali

Category:Women's education in Rwanda

Category:Women's organisations based in Rwanda