Monitoring and Evaluation Organization Seeks Professional Status to Create More Impact

RMEO members and newly trained YEEs

Rwanda Monitoring and Evaluation Organization (RMEO) has set its sights on growing into a fully-fledged national entity that will train more youth-led experts who can create impact through professional data collection and analysis in the generation of Artificial Intelligence.

This ambition follows the successful implementation of the Young and Emerging Evaluators (YEEs) program, which has, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, equipped 193 youth with skills to create a robust evaluation system.

On September 19, the YEEs group showcased how the training program has, since 2024, enabled them to record success stories of impact and create youth-led jobs but also contribute to Rwanda’s second National Strategy for Transformation (NST2), which requires generating credible evidence, fostering accountability, informing adaptive policies and programs.

The beneficiaries showed that this investment has not only enhanced individual skills but also contributed to strengthening Rwanda’s evaluation ecosystem by nurturing a new generation of
evaluators who bring energy, innovation, and technological expertise to the profession.

Remadjj Jennifer

All the way from Chad, Remadjj Jennifer showed how gaining evaluation skills from the program informed her decision to stay in Rwanda after completing her university education in Kigali and having no job back home.

“At first, I was interested in the salary from the program, but later I realized it has helped me to develop interviewing skills and has given me a chance to do something impactful in Rwanda instead of staying home,” Remadjj said.

For Ernestine Uwimbabazi, who wanted to be a doctor, showed how she has grown to become a professional evaluator at Impanuro Girls Initiative.

“I wanted to be a doctor, but on the evaluation side, but doing a project management (education), I always asked if what I was doing had an impact on families,” Uwimbabazi said.

Ernestine Uwimbabazi

“Now as a project lead, I focus on the impact to see if the trainings delivered are having gains, and I evaluate expectations. I thank the Mastercard Foundation for this opportunity to fulfill my ambitions.”

Building on these achievements, Jean Baptiste Niyonsenga, the RMEO Project Coordinator, said YEEs have gained enhanced professional exposure and opportunities to become change-makers in Rwanda.

The young evaluators have been linked to UN learning platforms (including UNICEF and UNFPA-Rwanda) and key evaluation networks, improving their visibility, career prospects, and access to peer learning at regional, continental, and global levels.

Some of the Mastercard Foundation officials who flew in from West Africa to attend the inspiring M&E story-telling session in Kigali

Through partnerships with the AfrEA-YEEs Network and EvalYouth Global, Rwandan YEEs are actively engaging in international platforms.

“This collaboration has opened new doors, including the forthcoming launch of the EvalYouth Rwanda Chapter in October 2025, which will serve as a self-organized community to advance youth leadership in evaluation, foster collaboration, and ensure the sustainability of YEE contributions within Rwanda and beyond,” he said.

Call for Support:

Jean Baptiste Niyonsenga, the RMEO Project Coordinator

Moving forward, Niyonsenga said that the RMEO Coordinator said that the organization needs to become a professional body, like others in the medical and engineering professions, to advance its reach and impact.

“We want to acquire legal status as a professional body so that we can offer recognized certificates and diplomas in monitoring and evaluation led by youth,” Niyonsenga said.

This process is underway with negotiations and support from existing partners such as UNICEF Rwanda, which has since 2017 backed the organization as a way of implementing the UN youth engagement policy.

Academia representatives like the Institute of Applied Sciences (INES Ruhengeri) showed that while they offer subsidiary courses in monitoring and evaluation (M&E), the professional course lacks in universities to build a sustainable ecosystem.

Change of Guard:

Jean Protogene Habakurama

Jean Protogene Habakurama, a professional evaluator who worked as an accountant before joining the YEEs program, managed and later started his own M&E training center (MDS Experts) said that the youth have to take the lead in changing the way M&E is done by older professionals.

“To sustain this profession, we need to have more young minds that are innovative, adaptive, and can use AI to replace the aging experts,” Habakurama said.

Alex Mugabo

The president of RMEO, Alex Mugabo, said that they are working with Vanguard Economics to develop a new 5-year strategic plan, and this will encompass increasing youth engagement and new international hands-on training modules.

“We trained 193 in the Mastercard Foundation program, but even if we get more five or 20 who can make a difference and change the world, that is a success for us. Just like the 12 disciples of Jesus…we are beginning with the champs who are going to create change that we are looking for,” Mugabo said.