What Akilah Students Say About Their Internships

Our graduating class of 2017 is busy doing their three-month internships at a wide range of companies and industries across Rwanda. Three students share their experiences, including the projects, challenges, and opportunities they’ve encountered along the way.

Learning new skills in the classroom is one thing — but applying them in the workforce can be an entirely new, and daunting, prospect. Which is why Akilah requires all students to complete 400 internship hours in a career-relevant industry.

Akilah’s sister company, MindSky, has matched our graduating students with internships and prepared them for the transition from the classroom to the workplace. Internships give our students a thorough understanding of their chosen industry and employer expectations, and some will walk away with a job offer.

Read on to hear from our students on their personal internship experiences.

Audresse Girarike, Entrepreneurship ‘17

Intern at Jumia Food

[Jumia is the biggest online retail platform in Africa. It operates in 23 African countries with sub-brands such as Jumia Food, Travel, Deals, House, and Cars. Jumia Food was the first online food delivery platform in Rwanda and has revolutionized the market with its efficient customer service.]

“I am currently in the marketing department of Jumia Food, where I am reaching out to customers, promoting Jumia, showing people how the app works, attending events, and in general raising awareness about the company.

I’ll be moving into the Operations and Logistics department next month. We are rotating between different roles, so we get to learn a bit of everything.

I feel I have a lot to contribute. I’m using the skills I got from my Entrepreneurship studies at Akilah. This is still a startup company in Rwanda, so we help set strategies on how to get as many customers as possible. At Akilah we do a lot of marketing, and we practice negotiation and customer care skills. We are used to going out and interacting with people, so I immediately felt comfortable in this role. Our job is to find a way to make both the company and the customers satisfied.

I use social media, I go out and talk to customers, I do business pitches and make people see why they should use the platform. It is about making sure the customers understand what you are selling to them.

“Our job is to find a way to make both the company and the customers satisfied.”

I didn’t know much about online retail before coming to Jumia, but I’m learning a lot about it. I know how the system works now — all the way from order to delivery. I have made 65 sales in one month, which is a great achievement for me. They even made me the Field Team Leader.

I am increasing my network and learning a lot. I want to build my career in business management. Business is all about understanding your target customers and knowing how to reach them. I’m getting to practice that here at Jumia — it’s a good start to build my career.”

Sonia Rugwiro, Information Systems ‘17

Intern at BAG Innovation

[BAG Innovation is a startup in Rwanda that empowers university students to produce sustainable solutions for local and international businesses. Working in groups, students come up with innovative solutions to business challenges and provide valuable insight to companies, while gaining positive work experience.]

“I am designing an online system for BAG Innovation. The platform is meant to make it easier for students to apply to the program and create their profiles. We are planning to launch the platform very soon, so it needs to be nice! It will be my first real live website that a lot of people are using. It’s exciting.

As soon as I started my internship, they asked me to start creating the system. Because I study Information Systems at Akilah, they were confident that I could do it. I’m doing everything in the process: conceptualizing, designing, coding, and implementing — with great support from a team of web designers who share our office.

I am starting to see coding and systems differently. Before, I could sit for days and weeks working on one project. Now I can design something beautiful in a short time, not stressing over one thing. I am learning to use different software that I didn’t know about.

Because BAG Innovation works with university students, I also get to work closely with students on solving the business challenges they’re working on. For me to be able to make a good website for the program, I need to understand the work they do.

I learn so many things from them and I get to explore new fields, such as entrepreneurship and marketing. It all connects well to what I’ve been studying.

I learn so many things from them and I get to explore new fields, such as entrepreneurship and marketing. It all connects well to what I’ve been studying.

Whenever you take responsibility for guiding someone through a process, you are using your leadership skills. I am helping to create an environment for students where they can ask you anything. Immediately that makes you a leader.

Doing my internship here is making me a stronger asset to the workforce. It is opening my mind and makes me envision so many potential work paths. I’m exposed to the industry and I’m experiencing and learning so many new things.

I think it’s great to work with a startup company. They pay attention to you, they really care about your progress. You find yourself rising with them.

Gentilesse Irakoze, Hospitality Management ’17

Intern at Park Inn Hotel by Radisson

[Park Inn is the Radisson’s newest hotel in Kigali and opened in May. With its 160 rooms in the heart of the city, the hotel is one of the latest players in Kigali’s booming hospitality industry. Park Inn has hired more than a dozen Akilah alumnae and interns.]

“I am rotating between four different departments at the hotel during my internship. Right now, I am in food and beverage, but I have also worked in the front office, housekeeping, and next is the kitchen. The four departments I am working in are all connected, and it’s great for me to know the procedures in all the departments.

It’s a great opportunity to gain experience and use the skills we have learned at Akilah. For instance, I was already familiar with the booking software they use here at the hotel, so it was easy for me to get started at the front desk.

I’m using my leadership skills every day. Without them you could easily give up in this business. It requires emotional intelligence; you have to work hard and be resilient.

“I’m using my leadership skills every day. Without them you could easily give up in this business. It requires emotional intelligence; you have to work hard and be resilient.”

Now that I am interning here, I do believe my future career is in the hotel industry. I see how I can contribute to the company and help them grow. I am passionate about customer care and providing excellent service to our guests.

I believe I will be a good asset to the hotel. I know what it takes to be a good employee. It comes with successes and challenges. I know how to service different types of clients, how to deal professionally with complaints, and how to work long hours and still give excellent service.

In that sense, I do think Akilah students are different from others. The leadership skills we gain are really helping us in our work.

Our supervisor will often tell us, “Since you are from Akilah, you already know a lot of it, so you won’t need as much training as others.”

It’s definitely a challenging job, but knowing how to behave and how to learn from the challenges you are faced with is what makes you grow. Successful people learn from challenges. The experiences we are gaining here will be our strengths in the future.”