Chinese companies in Rwanda hold job fair

By Xinhua

KIGALI, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) — Chinese companies in Rwanda could soon hire dozens of Rwandans who have finished their studies in China on Chinese scholarships in the latest recruitment drive.

This was announced at the second edition of a job recruitment fair held Saturday in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, organized by the Chinese Embassy in Rwanda in partnership with the Rwanda-China Alumni Organization, the Chinese Enterprises Association, the Chinese Association in Rwanda, and Rwanda’s Ministry of Public Service and Labor.

Representatives of different Chinese companies working in Rwanda in fields such as civil engineering, construction, electronics, electrical engineering and agriculture turned up to engage with the graduates who studied in China.

Speaking at the event, Chinese ambassador to Rwanda Wang Xuekun, said 30 Chinese companies are offering opportunities to Rwandan graduates. “I hope this platform will continue to create chances and opportunities for Rwandan talent and contribute to Rwanda’s economic development,” he said.

China remains Rwanda’s top investor and trading partner attributable to Chinese entrepreneurs, according to Wang.

“Nowadays more and more Chinese companies come to Rwanda and explore opportunities in different sectors not only in the traditional ones of infrastructure, manufacture, transportation, but also in emerging areas like e-commerce, vocational training, communications, and so on,” Wang said.

He noted that Chinese companies have become part of Rwanda’s transformation and development. “We aim to provide a good platform for the employment of Rwandan talents who studied in China, also for Chinese companies’ integration into the Rwandan economy.”

Wang added that people who have studied in China have the advantage of having been exposed to the culture of both countries, thus understanding both Rwanda and China.

Theoneste Higaniro, the chairperson of the Rwanda-China Alumni Organization, said they were hoping that everyone who graduated from China and attended the job fair could find a job opportunity depending on their expertise.

“More than 150 alumni members registered to attend the job fair. Considering the outcomes of the previous fair in 2019, where 30 people got permanent jobs, we expect that more than 50 alumni members could get jobs this time round,” he told Xinhua.

The organization’s plan is to make the fair an annual event and extend it to include other Rwandan job seekers.

Patrick Kananga, an official from the Rwandan Ministry of Labor, said such a job fair was very important to link job seekers with prospective employers.

“This is something we really appreciate as the government because it offers Rwandans who studied in China an opportunity to be linked with Chinese companies, where they can get jobs to put their skills into practice and learn from Chinese entrepreneurship skills,” he said. “We also appreciate the fact that for China, apart from giving scholarships to Rwandans they follow up to see that trainees can get jobs to develop themselves and the country.”

Angeline Tuyisenge, who studied advanced diploma in Business Management and Entrepreneurship, said she looked forward to securing a job in a Chinese company after learning that there are many Chinese companies operating in Rwanda.  Pacific Rumarika, who finished his undergraduate degree in International Trade and Economics in 2020, said he was happy to attend the job recruitment fair as he believes Chinese companies offer many job opportunities.

This year the Chinese government provided 80 scholarships to Rwandan students to pursue their tertiary education in different top institutions in China.

Since the 1980s, more than 1,500 Rwandan students have completed their studies in China after being awarded Chinese government scholarships.  ■