In Rwanda and many other countries, youth unemployment continues to be one of the biggest challenges facing graduates from colleges and universities.
Every year, thousands of students graduate with different qualifications and hope to enter the job market to build a better future. However, this is not the reality for everyone, as some spend months or even years searching for jobs without success.
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From Struggle to Innovation
Faced with this situation, a group of young graduates who had spent a long time looking for jobs without success decided to come together. They realised that waiting endlessly for opportunities would waste their time and leave them without direction.
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Through discussions, they discovered they had different skills — writing, collecting information, using technology, conducting research, and managing activities. Instead of waiting for jobs, they chose to create something of their own.
This is how the idea of building a website was born. The platform would provide information on different topics and events happening in Rwanda and beyond. They believed that technology could reach many people, and the internet had already become an essential tool for accessing information.
Building AGACIRO PRESS
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The journey was not easy. Creating a website requires resources such as money for hosting services, buying a domain name, and continuous improvements.
As an unemployed youth, meeting these requirements was difficult. Yet, they did not give up. Each member contributed what they could — ideas, time, or skills in technology and journalism — to make the website operational.
They also realised that to reach a larger audience, they needed a language that would allow people from different countries to read their content. They chose English, one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, enabling them to reach Rwandans abroad, foreigners in Rwanda, investors, students, and many others.
This idea later became AGACIRO PRESS, a platform created to provide updated news and information about Rwanda and beyond. The name “Agaciro” carries deep meaning in Rwandan culture, symbolising dignity and value gained through actions and behaviour.
For these graduates, it represented the belief that even without jobs, they could create value through innovation and hard work.
Creating Opportunities for Others
Beyond creating employment for themselves, they envisioned AGACIRO PRESS as a platform that could provide opportunities for journalists, writers, photographers, technology specialists, and other talented individuals. Their example shows that opportunities can come from ideas people create themselves rather than waiting for government or private institutions to provide them.
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Today, technology continues to open new doors for young people. Websites, YouTube, social media platforms, and other digital tools demonstrate that someone can start small and grow into something bigger. The story of AGACIRO PRESS is proof that unemployment should not end young people’s dreams. Instead, it can be the beginning of something meaningful, capable of changing lives.
As the saying goes, opportunities do not always come on their own — sometimes people create them themselves.
