VANCOUVER, BC (ANS) -- More than 150 delegates from Canada and Rwanda, including international thought and business leaders, will gather in Kigali, Rwanda for the inaugural Made in Rwanda Leadership Summit. The Summit, which takes place on Wednesday, February 15, 2012, is an innovative think tank centered on the themes of leadership and the development of human capital organized by Opportunity International Canada and The Wellspring Foundation for Education.

Logo for the event

Opportunity Canada and Wellspring, Canadian based international nonprofit organizations, worked in cooperation with the Rwandan Development Board, Bridge2Rwanda, Private Sector Federation, Rwanda-Canada Chamber of Commerce, Urwego Opportunity Bank of Rwanda and Karisimbi Business Partners to make the event happen. All of these organizations are unified in the goal of the Summit, which is to develop and propose solutions to a wide range of pressing issues and challenges by empowering and engaging the talent of Rwandans while connecting them to businesses and organizations, locally and globally.

The Summit will feature keynote speakers including Bob Lawless, current Opportunity International Canada Board Chair & CEO who spent over 10 years as the Chairman and CEO of McCormick & Company Inc, Arthur Karuletwa, Director of Geocertify at Starbucks Coffee Company, Carter Crockett from Karisimbi Business Partners and John Magnay, Agro Business Expert for Opportunity International.

“Rwanda has come a long ways since the 1994 genocide”, Wellspring Executive Director Richard Taylor states, “and this is largely due to strong and focused leadership and an emphasis on developing the human capital within its borders. This Summit and trip is about highlighting these successes, learning from one another and helping Rwanda meet its bold Vision 2020 goals over the next decade.”

This visionary trip has been made possible with funding from Stronger Together 2011, a collaborative granting initiative of nine foundations and individuals in Canada who combined forces to invest in the strategic growth of nonprofit partnerships. “Stronger Together is a fitting funder for the Summit and term for what we believe about international development,” Opportunity International Canada Executive Vice President Doris Olafsen said. “This event focuses on the power and potential of human capital and what might be possible by harnessing the potential of partnership across the various sectors of business, education, government and the for-profit and NGO worlds.”

You can follow the trip, get more details on the leadership summit and learn more about each of the organizations involved at www.madeinrwanda.ca/summit.

About Opportunity International Canada

Founded in 1971, Opportunity International provides access to savings, small business loans, insurance and training to over 2.5 million people working their way out of poverty in the developing world. Clients in more than 20 countries use these financial services to start or expand a business, provide for their families, create jobs for their neighbors and build a safety net for the future. For more information, visit us at www.opportunityinternational.ca and join the conversation at facebook.com/opportunitycan.

About The Wellspring Foundation

The Wellspring Foundation for Education is a Christian organization working with Rwandans to empower a new generation of leaders through education that transforms lives. We believe education is a nation’s greatest resource and teachers are most essential to maximizing that resource and work to help them gain the creativity, principles, and capability necessary to positively impact their own communities and adapt to a changing world. Wellspring has established one of Rwanda’s best schools, trained nearly 600 teachers, improved 47 public schools, and supported a grassroots Association of Committed Teachers (ACT) to spread throughout the Country. Learn more at www.thewellspringfoundation.com or facebook.com/wellspringfoundation.