The Problem

The “confidence gap” for women is pervasive globally – and throughout East Africa that gap translates to missed opportunities for social and economic advancement. Rwanda’s government leads the way in providing huge support to women and girls. But change also needs to be driven from the grassroots to accompany the work of Rwanda’s government. We will attain gender equality once women no longer face subordinate family roles, increased employment barriers, or social constraints.

We know that it is smart economics to invest in women, but providing access to skills is not enough. When organizations deliver programs that solely focus on hard skills or education, they are leaving impact on the table. 

If we want women to be at the forefront of a movement to build prosperity, we must give them the tools to make their voices resonate.

Our Solution

Resonate provides short leadership workshops that allow women and girls to shift their mindsets, turn skills into action, and fulfill their potential. As a result of the sense of self-confidence gained from our workshops we have seen women accomplish incredible things:

• Trained entrepreneurs take out loans and open businesses.

• Aspiring community leaders are elected to village councils.

• Bright young graduates put themselves forward to find new professional and academic opportunities.

By coupling hard-skills and education with leadership training, we amplify the impact of our partners and deliver more benefit to the women and girls we serve. We ensure that women and girls not only have access to skills, they also have the confidence to take action and create change. 

Storytelling for Leadership
Our flagship two-day program is at the core of every training program, building self-confidence by crafting and sharing a story about a challenge you faced, and how you overcame it.

Key skills: self-confidence, comfort speaking up, decision-making, leadership

Professional Development
Employers choose from a range of foundational professional skills and create a custom training to increase staff capacity and effectiveness.

Key skills: team management, problem solving, effective communication, prioritization, leadership

Action Leadership
Over 12 weeks, young people gain leadership experience through designing and implementing community projects. 

Key skills: storytelling for leadership, problem solving, project planning

Training of Facilitators
Through an intensive 10-days hands-on coaching and practice, Resonate trains staff from a partner organization to deliver our content.

Key skills: Storytelling for Leadership, Facilitation and coaching skills

33% have started businesses

For our participants, we are elevating coaches. We work with and for our participants – they are at the heart of what we do. We believe in them, and we support them to become confident leaders, courageous enough to fulfill their full potential, and make the changes they want to see in their lives, their communities, and the world.

For Funding partners, we are catalytic leaders. We leverage donor investments to drive deeper impact. We are pioneering a new approach to women's empowerment and are looking at a critical area that development programs often overlook: self-confidence.

For our Program partners, we are innovative confidantes. We work together with Program partners to understand and amplify their impact by integrating leadership development into their programs.