Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT) Rwanda invites Aspiring Social Innovators who want to develop initiatives that solve community problems to apply to its Social Entrepreneurship Program.

1. Organizational Background

Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT) Rwanda is a youth-led movement of daring social innovators who have the tools, knowledge, and networks to create opportunities and transform their own communities.

Launched in 2010, DOT Rwanda is proud to be women-led and locally staffed with strong local and international partnership networks that extend across diverse communities in urban and rural settings.

We believe in the power of youth-led innovation, that communities can be shaped by empowering youth to create sustainable initiatives inspired by community needs, and that social innovation is accelerated when supported by digital technology.

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The organization’s vision is to make pathways to these opportunities available particularly to young people and women, as a strategy to eradicate poverty, vulnerability and gender inequality. DOT Rwanda is differentiated by its unique youth-­to­‐youth model, its use of technology as an enabler to achieve economic and social goals, and its commitment to localization.

Over the last decade, DOT Rwanda has established a strong and innovative alumni network of 821 #DOTYouth (60% women) digital champions, community leaders, and social innovators, who have empowered their peers and community members. 109,000 (50% women) Rwandans in total have been empowered with digital, entrepreneurial and leadership skills, resilience, and networks to secure and create meaningful livelihoods and contribute to the development of their communities.

2. About this opportunity

This year, Aspiring Social Innovators who want to develop initiatives that solve community problems are invited to join DOT Rwanda’s Social enterprise development program to collaborate on building locally relevant solutions.

Young men and women who wish to develop initiatives that positively transform their communities will go through a learning journey that will run from May 2021 involving both online engagements (online courses, online live training/coaching and peer collaboration) and face-to- face workshops for learning and collaboration with peer like-minded change makers.

3. Phases

The Social Entrepreneurship Program will run in six phases that will be offered through blended format adhering to the COVID-19  preventive measures.

The six phases of the Social Entrepreneurship Program are: Ideation, Model Design , Minimum Viable Product ( MVP) Validation, Enterprise Launch, and Enterprise Growth.

4. What the Social Entrepreneurship Program has to offer?

  • Social Entrepreneurship Program will support young women and men to turn their business ideas into enterprises that address challenges and take advantage in their communities.
  • Participants will build their business skills in tandem with their competencies in gender equality, technology and social innovation, connecting with networks of their peers and support organizations in their ecosystem.
  • Participants will receive capacity building with a focus on social entrepreneurship with a human centered design approach, leadership and digital skills.
  • Outstanding innovators will also get an opportunity to showcase their initiatives in DOT’s International Youth Conference awards for best innovations. They will also get financing for their social enterprises, mentorship and coaching to support their initiatives.
  • Upon completion of the program, participants will have a sustainable enterprise that will improve their own livelihoods and their communities.

5. What are the knowledge, skills, abilities that program participants will develop?

  • Information, Communication and Technology (ICT): functional use of ICT in a professional context.
  • Gender equality: ability to recognize gender perspectives in their work and community and concentrate on them towards the goal of gender equality.
  • Entrepreneurship:  the ability to develop, organize and manage a business venture along with any of its risks. It includes key characteristics that should be possessed by a person in order to successfully run a new venture
  • Social innovation: Human Centered Design( iteration, testing, and prototype), Impact Assessment, Pitching and Storytelling.
  • 21st Century Skills: Skills, abilities and dispositions that have been identified for success in the 21st century society ( 4Cs): Creativity, Collaboration, Communication and Critical Thinking.

6. Qualifications/ Requirements

  • Aged between 21 to 35 years old
  • Have an idea of a potential innovative solution addressing community challenges
  • Proven commitment to community impact
  • Have an innovative idea that has not been awarded in any other challenge
  • Do not have an operational business
  • Commit to develop your idea further into an social enterprise model and implement that solutions in the community
  • Have basic digital literacy skills
  • Be opportunity driven not necessity driven
  • Be able to follow and participate in online capacity building and peer collaboration

7. How to apply

Step 1: Fill in the application form you can find here: https://forms.gle/dJ564PJxqZ7Qt426A

Step 2: Make a 3-minutes video explaining the challenge at hand and how it affects the community in your area. Post the video on YouTube and share the link to your YouTube video with the following email addresses: rwanda@dotrust.org and aakayezu@dotrust.org

N.B: Only shortlisted candidates will be communicated

Application deadline is Friday, April 23rd 2021, at 5pm (Kigali Time).

Apply now!

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