Quote of the Day by Lydie Hakizimana

October 17, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Lydie Hakizimana, co-founder of Drakkar Limited (Rwanda) — Lydie Hakizimana, co-founder of Drakkar Limited (Rwanda)

"When you have the interests of people at heart, you can do anything."

Quote of the Day by Lydie Hakizimana

May 2, 2017 Melanie Hawken

“Reading skills build the foundation for all future learning, and it is proven that people who can read enjoy better health, make more money, and serve their communities more effectively,”

- Lydie Hakizimana is co-founder and Managing Director of Drakkar Limited, a specialist reseller and distributor of educational textbooks. It all started back in 2006 when this avid bookworm decided to follow her passion and opened a small bookshop. Before long, her entrepreneurial instincts had her developing relationships with numerous publishing companies. Eventually, she struck a deal that was to be the making of her company with UK publisher, Pearson Education. Drakkar rapidly evolved into a leading educational textbooks reseller in Rwanda, becoming an important enabler of her country's vision for building a knowledge-based economy. Today, Lydie manages 45 employees and thirty part-time distributors covering the five provinces of Rwanda. Lydie has also added exclusive distributor deals with Longman, Heinemann and Penguin to her Pearson contract.

PODCAST: Lionesses of Africa speaks to Lydie Hakizimana, serial entrepreneur in Rwanda, and founder of the Happy Hearts Day Care and Nursery School in Kigali

March 11, 2016 Melanie Hawken

Lydie Hakizimana, founder of the Happy Hearts Day Care and Nursery School (Rwanda)

Listen to Lionesses of Africa Founder and CEO, Melanie Hawken, in conversation with Lydie Hakizimana, serial entrepreneur and founder of the Happy Hearts Day Care and Nursery School in Kigali, Rwanda. The interview was recorded at the school during LoA’s visit to Rwanda for the Global Women’s Summit to celebrate International Women’s Day on 8 March 2016.

Quote of the Day by Lydie Hakizimana

January 28, 2016 Melanie Hawken

Lydie Hakizimana, co-founder and Managing Director of Drakkar Limited — Lydie Hakizimana, co-founder and Managing Director of Drakkar Limited

“There are still many problems (in Rwanda), but I now see them as opportunities where entrepreneurs like me can thrive and rebuild the country,”

Quote of the Day

November 27, 2015 Melanie Hawken

“Corruption leads to a lot of missed opportunities, .... Corruption stops someone to think that he can be an entrepreneur. Corruption makes you fear to take the risk. When you have corruption in a country, people are just discouraged. There is no hope. They don’t see themselves successful in the long term. They just feel that they need to know a minister or the son of the minister to be successful in a country.”

- Lydie Hakizimana is co-founder and Managing Director of Drakkar Limited, a specialist reseller and distributor of educational textbooks in Rwanda. Today, Lydie manages 45 employees and thirty part-time distributors covering the five provinces of Rwanda. Lydie has also added exclusive distributor deals with Longman, Heinemann and Penguin to her Pearson contract.

Lydie Hakizimana – The startup story of a textbook entrepreneur with an incredible vision for improving children’s literacy in Rwanda

November 29, 2014 Melanie Hawken

Lydia Hakizimana, co-founder and managing director of Drakkar Limited — Lydia Hakizimana, co-founder and managing director of Drakkar Limited

If there is one woman that is living proof of the power of women entrepreneurs to make a real difference in the world, it is Lydie Hakizimana co-founder of Drakkar Limited in Rwanda.

Quote of the Day

October 16, 2014 Melanie Hawken

“Most of us will fear to start an income-generating activity because we think that for one to start a business they need a lot of money. That’s why many young people are looking for non-existent white collar jobs.”

Video: Lydia Hakizimana talks about the effects of corruption on the human spirit

October 14, 2014 Melanie Hawken

Source: Poverty Cure | Published on September 19, 2013

Lydie Hakizimana of Rwanda describes the effects of corruption on the human spirit. The problem of corruption extends beyond dollars and cents. It crushes the entrepreneurial spirit of a people.

Video: Lydia Hakizimana talks about her reading project to inspire the children of Rwanda

October 14, 2014 Melanie Hawken

Source: US AID | Published on February 8, 2013

Lydia Hakizimana talks about a children's reading programme and competition she launched in Rwanda to inspire children to get more excited about reading.

Lydie Hakizimana: You don’t need money, but brains to start a business

May 6, 2014 Melanie Hawken

Source: In2EastAfrica.com | May 6, 2014

Most young people are unemployed because they have a misconception that one can only start an income-generating venture when they have a lot of money. Lydie Hakizimana, the chairperson of Rwanda's Chamber of Young Entrepreneurs at Private Sector Federation, said this mindset was partly responsible for the increasing rate of unemployment in the country.

Video: Lydia Hakizimana talks about how she started her book business Drakkar Limited

March 29, 2014 Melanie Hawken

Source: Peseltz | Published on Mar 29, 2014

Akilah interviews Rwandan entrepreneur Lydie Hakazimana about how she started up Drakkar Limited.

Rwanda’s Drakkar Ltd. Wins USAID’S Global “All Children Reading" Award

September 17, 2012 Melanie Hawken

Lydie Hakizimana All Children Reading Challenge

Source: IGIHE.com | Published on September 17, 2012

Drakkar is working in cooperation with the Rwandan Education Board (REB) and the Educational Development Center in three districts in the Southern Province in Rwanda. The project’s goal and theory of change are to encourage a culture of reading in Rwanda by: providing support to, and training of, school-based mentors to improve teachers’ instructional practices, including through the incorporation of read aloud approaches; Increasing access to Kinyarwanda storybooks in targeted schools and local bookstores; and developing local capacity to produce Kinyarwanda stories, including through a national story writing competition designed to develop a children’s book market for authors.

Lydie Hakizimana: The book distributor at heart of Rwanda’s drive for knowledge economy

August 30, 2012 Melanie Hawken

Source: Ventures Africa | August 30, 2012

Lydie Hakizimana, who started a bookshop in 2006 that expanded into her company Drakkar Ltd, struck a deal with UK publisher’s Pearson Education to resell their textbooks in Rwanda and Burundi.