Christian Zihalirwa Akonkwa

Christian Akonkwa Zihalirwa is an information technology and finance professional with more than three years’ combined experience in the private sector and social entrepreneurship. Christian Zihalirwa Akonkwa is motivated to see people in his community improve their lives, so he co-founded Entreprendre et Reussir, a support unit for small and medium-sized enterprises in the North Kivu region, which is affected by conflict and violence against women. This social enterprise aims to alleviate poverty in the suburb of Goma by providing resources and small loans to women’s cooperatives and girl merchants, who cannot afford the collateral from a financial institution loan, to sustain their business activities. Christian and local university students provide training for the girls and women in relevant business and economic topics, such as micro-entrepreneurship principles, business plan development, and financial management. Christian holds a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology and Master of Business Administration in Finance Management. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, he plans to diversify his impact by focusing on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education and capacity building for students. Stayed in Africa.