“Now what?” This is the question on the minds of so many new graduates as they face a rapidly changing labour market and a world still reeling from the COVID-19 crisis.
For Beatrice Ayinkamiye, a Rwandan who came to McGill through the Mastercard Foundation (MCF) Scholars Program, this question was about more than just job prospects. When she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in spring 2020, she had to decide whether to stay in Montreal or move back to Rwanda.
“Everybody had an opinion,” says Ayinkamiye, remembering how so many of her friends had advised her not to return to Rwanda right away. “They said: ‘How are you going to get a job? What about the pandemic? Are you sure?’”
“They weren’t wrong. But I made the conscious decision that that's what I needed to do at that point in my life. So I came back to Rwanda,” says Ayinkamiye, who felt a strong pull to go home and reconnect with her mother.
When she arrived in her hometown of Musanze in northern Rwanda, Ayinkamiye discovered that very few employers were hiring. Meanwhile, she was also trying to figure out what she should do with her education.
As a child, she dreamt of becoming both a medical doctor and a public servant, in part to fill the many needs she saw in her community growing up. Now armed with a degree in mathematics and economics, she wasn’t sure where to focus her attention.
Just as she was about to accept an unpaid internship in late summer 2020, Ayinkamiye received an email from the MCF Transitions Project at McGill, which led her down an unexpectedly rewarding path.
“A soft landing in the labour market”
Since 2013, the Mastercard Foundation has been awarding scholarships to incoming McGill students from Sub-Saharan Africa who – like Ayinkamiye – display academic talent, leadership qualities and a commitment to giving back to the community.
This program has given over 100 African students the opportunity to earn a world-class education at McGill. Since many of these MCF Scholars have now graduated, the MCF Transitions Project was created to “help them have a soft landing in the labour market,” explains Dr. Nii Addy, Associate Director of Africa Outreach in McGill’s Office of the Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning).
“It’s important to keep building on the foundation the scholarship provides,” says Addy, who is leading the initiative. “There has to be a longer-term commitment to supporting the Scholars as they look for fulfilling employment and launch careers that will have a positive impact in Africa. That's what the Transitions Project is about.”
Ayinkamiye was thrilled when Addy reached out to tell her about the project. “I think this was made for me,” she says. “I was just smiling ear to ear.” After discussing her interests and goals with Addy, she was offered a paid internship at Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN).
She couldn’t believe her luck when she found out that she would be working with Dr. Eliane Ubalijoro, who she knew by reputation as a member of Rwanda’s Presidential Advisory Council. At the time, Ubalijoro, who is also a Professor of Practice at McGill’s Institute for the Study of International Development, was working with GODAN to bring a sustainable practice called Zero Budget Natural Farming to Rwanda.
What I’ve learned from the Transitions Project, and I think every Scholar needs to know this, is that there is going to be a chance for you to do something great wherever you’re going to go.”
Ayinkamiye had never considered working in the field of agriculture before, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. She imagined how her work could eventually help her mother, a smallholder farmer who sometimes struggles to make a profit selling vegetables at the local market.
“I've seen so many mothers do that. They try so hard to make ends meet, but it is never enough to be able to provide for their families,” she explains. “At least 80% of the population here depends on agriculture, yet these people are the poorest.”
“With this internship at GODAN, I got to learn all about the transformation that is happening in the agricultural sector here in Rwanda,” says Ayinkamiye, who had a chance to collaborate with people working in agriculture at all levels, including entrepreneurs and government representatives.
A full suite of opportunities
In addition to sponsoring internships, the MCF Transitions Project provides opportunities for Scholars in three other areas – entrepreneurship, professional development, and mentorship – and all four aspects of the project have played a role in Ayinkamiye’s post-graduation journey.
To get up to speed in the new field she was exploring, Ayinkamiye took advantage of the professional development portion and decided to enroll in an online course at McGill’s School of Continuing Studies. She opted for an interdisciplinary offering called “Current Challenges in Global Food Security”, which was developed in collaboration with the Margaret A. Gilliam Institute for Global Food Security.
But it was the entrepreneurship aspect of the project that really surprised Ayinkamiye.
One of the people she met during her internship was a young entrepreneur who was trying to find a solution to the disconnect between smallholder farmers and urban consumers in Rwanda – an issue that struck a chord with Ayinkamiye.
They teamed up to create Food Bundles, an agri-tech start-up that uses USSD (a low-resource technology available on feature phones) to cut out inefficiencies in the fresh food supply chain and link farmers directly to customers in big cities. Offering a digital platform and delivery service, Food Bundles will promote a more resilient and sustainable market, help farmers make more money, and improve access to fresh and affordable food in urban areas.
With encouragement and support from the Transitions team, she and her business partner entered the 2021 Dobson Cup competition at McGill and won second place in the Environmental Enterprise Track. “I couldn’t believe it when that happened. This was a strong endorsement of what we are doing here,” says Ayinkamiye.
She has since applied for seed funding from the Transitions Project to hire and train employees to work at the Food Bundles storage and packaging facilities. Ubalijoro, who has been serving as a mentor to Ayinkamiye, also offered to review the Food Bundles pitch deck and share it with a venture capitalist for feedback on how to attract more investment.
Ubalijoro emphasizes that her collaborations with Ayinkamiye have been mutually beneficial. “Beatrice has been crucial in terms of networks in Rwanda, whether they're in food, in agriculture, in artificial intelligence – she's a very networked person locally.”
“There's mentoring in both directions in terms of her connecting me to young people doing exciting things and me connecting her to experienced experts who are able to give support,” says Ubalijoro, who recently recruited Ayinkamiye for a new internship at an interdisciplinary research hub called Future Earth.
Building a global network of African alumni
“What I’ve learned from the Transitions Project, and I think every Scholar needs to know this, is that there is going to be a chance for you to do something great wherever you’re going to go,” says Ayinkamiye.
Raphael Ajima, the MCF Transitions Program Administrator, does regular check-ins with Scholars and says he often feels inspired by the transformation he sees in them. “I think one of the impacts we're having directly on Scholars is giving them the courage and confidence to realize how much they already have within. Realizing that, ‘Oh, actually I can become an agricultural entrepreneur and there’s so much I can do with that,’” says Ajima, who is a former MCF Scholar himself.
The whirlwind learning experience Ayinkamiye has had this past year is something the Transitions team wants to offer to many more African graduates. The team recently launched the McGill Alumni Africa Network to encourage more McGillians with connections to Africa to get involved in initiatives that will help MCF Scholars thrive after graduation.
One of these initiatives is the new MCF Transitions Mentorship Program, which aims to recreate the type of productive bond that Ubalijoro and Ayinkamiye have forged. Alumni who have lived, worked or invested in Africa are invited to sign up as mentors and share their insights with a student or recent graduate (initially over a four-month period, with the opportunity to continue if the mentor and mentee choose to do so).
“I think it's great to have this program, particularly during this COVID time,” says Ubalijoro, who sees the Transitions Project as an opportunity for Scholars to grow their networks and connect with professionals who are doing high-impact work around the world.
“I'm hopeful for Africa because of the energy, the enthusiasm and the intelligence these young people are bringing to their work,” she says.
Interested in participating in the MCF Transitions Mentorship Program? Sign up as a mentor or mentee today.