Brains on tap

Hey,

Former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta, like many other leaders, has often said that Africa’s greatest resource is its youth. 

While millions graduate from tertiary institutions, yearly, only a small fraction secure employment.

This is not meant to discourage you.

Welcome to Green Jobs Rising - where we not only share opportunities in the green sector, but also inspire young, brilliant minds to bring their ideas to life.

You are the brains we need!

Today, buckle up, our destination? Rwanda.

Meet Yvette Ishimwe, a Rwandan entrepreneur, environmental activist, and the founder & CEO of IRIBA Water Group. 

IRIBA was born out of lived experience. As a child, Yvette’s family moved from Kigali to a rural village without indoor plumbing or safe drinking water. Faced with this challenge, young Yvette began researching ways to purify water from a nearby lake. Her solution not only served her family but also the wider community.

Those early innovations eventually grew into IRIBA, which she formally launched while still a university student.

IRIBA, a name that means “natural source of fresh and clean water”, is transforming both health and livelihoods. Its flagship product, Tap&Drink, is a smart water ATM that connects to almost any source of dirty water, purifies it, and dispenses it at an affordable cost.

Now active in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic, IRIBA’s impact has been remarkable. Since its inception, the enterprise has provided safe drinking water to more than 517,000 people.

IRIBA’s franchise model has also boosted livelihoods, creating 194 permanent jobs.

Yvette recalls the early days of convincing people that affordable water could still be safe:

But that perception shifted. People today not only understand the importance of drinking clean water, they also know that it need not cost the earth.

Along the way, Yvette’s leadership has earned international recognition: she was selected as a 2019 Mandela Washington Fellow and named to Forbes Africa’s 30 Under 30 list in 2023.

Across the continent, young people hold powerful ideas to drive change. What’s often missing is mentorship, courage, or simply the push to turn those ideas into reality.

This is a reminder that every great invention begins with an idea, and the courage to step out and test it.