The Proof is in the Women
The last few months at TWB Rwanda have flown by, full of successes and challenges both large and small. When asked about our model and what we are achieving, most interested listeners get it – women are benefiting from vocational education and sustainable employment, communities are benefiting from affordable access to nutritious breads, and economies are benefiting from TWB’s local sourcing and local sales.
Visible progress is sometimes slow, but it’s there. You need only look at a simple photo journey following our Kigali bakery group from training, to their first bakery location, then on to the second, and now finally to the Flagship Café, to SEE how much we have grown and accomplished since 2015. And that is only one of our four operating bakeries in Rwanda, with our fifth cohort midway through training and getting ready for bakery launch in June!
Starting with just a framework of ideas and a big vision in 2015, TWB has successfully employed over 40 Rwandans in our network bakeries and headquarter offices, and we continue to grow.
It is therefore surprising when some people don’t get it. Take one government official who asked if our bread was sold in the major grocery stores of Kigali (where, by the way, it would not be remotely affordable). Upon hearing that we sell most of our bread in the local markets (where, by the way, it is highly affordable) he proclaimed that we are clearly not a successful business and don’t belong here. Or, another official who, in response to our queries about tax breaks for small enterprises and social businesses, said we should just export our goods in order to succeed … that would defeat the purpose of improving local nutrition by making affordable products accessible to the base of the market pyramid (and it’s fresh bread?) but nevermind. Not everyone gets it. However, TWB is not deterred.
The proof is in the bread, and in the women, and in our team. Our newly opened Flagship in Kigali is the perfect example of what we can achieve with a dedicated team, some sweat and tears, and the motivation of empowering and sustainably employing women.
#strongwomenbakingbread #breadpower #cantstopwontstop
A TWB PHOTO STORY: FROM 2015 TO NOW
Training in Remera, 2015.
Baking with our old oven during training, 2015.
The first site for TWB's Kigali Bakery, 2016.
Operations and sales at the Kigali Bakery, 2016.
Building the TWB Brand: Strong Women Baking Bread, 2017.
Baking at our new flagship bakery (with new ovens!), 2018
Morning production in the kitchen, 2018.
Soft launch of the new flagship bakery with Fran, our Marketing and Bakery Operations Coordinator, 2018.
