Many young men and women in Rwanda are still locked out of economic opportunities, widening the gap between government interventions and the youth.

A new report that looks into youth economic opportunities in four East African countries namely Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and Rwanda, says the youth face many barriers that impede their economic integration and limit business and employment opportunities.

In Rwanda, the research cites programmes such as Business Development Fund and Young Entrepreneurs Chamber established by the Private Sector Federation among positive examples of support to youth-led business development.

The research findings suggest that a majority of youth interviewed do not feel these programmes have had a substantial impact on their livelihoods not only in Rwanda but also across the East African region.

“There are too few opportunities for youth to appreciate or take advantage of in their communities,” says the report.

According to the findings, if governments engaged youth more meaningfully and shared more information, especially in rural areas, a greater number would seek out available opportunities.

Dioscore Shikama, a local young entrepreneur, said youth who are doing businesses are not knowledgeable about existing policies and the legal framework among other challenges.

“If many training opportunities can be provided on legal and taxation issues, I would appreciate,” he said.

The 2015-2016 Youth Think Tank report was conducted by MasterCard Foundation and Restless Development; a youth-led research agency; 400 individuals and groups were interviewed.

Hanga Umurimo is one of government initiatives to promote entrepreneurship mainly among youth but it has struggled to succeed due to banks’ high interests rates, financial illiteracy and poorly designed projects.

Out of 453 initial projects funded to the tune of Rwf4.8 billion, 113 were classified in the non-performing loans category.

In Rwanda another big barrier to youth economic empowerment is gender inequality.

“Despite various advancements, most significantly in Rwanda, young women’s economic potential is held back by cultural barriers that limit their access to resources, especially land, and by negative perceptions about their abilities,” said the research findings.

Young people reported that negative stereotypes of youth, their role and abilities, have an adverse effect on both their ambitions and access to resources. These attitudes and practices are exacerbated along gender lines.

Feedback from rural youth, especially those engaged in agriculture indicates that they are also prone to exploitation from middlemen, as they do not have the connections to urban markets.

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The youth call for improvements in infrastructure and connectivity, especially in rural areas. This will enable them to have equal access to information and services such as Internet access and mobile phone networks.

However, the report highlights some opportunities in mobile technology and software development that youth are tapping into.

The report said that land facilitates agribusiness in both rural and urban areas, and most mainstream financial institutions value land as collateral for loans, but only a few youth are able to own” this critical resource”.

The research also demonstrates that there are limited employment opportunities, available to urban and rural youth but young people are willing to start their own businesses.