Vision 2050, is Rwanda’s master development plan, in which the country aspires to become a middle-income country by 2035 and a high-income country by 2050.
One of the key strategic intervention areas in Rwanda’s 2017–2024 National Strategy for Transformation (NST1)⏤ the first of a series of seven-year programmes towards Vision 2050, is the development and support of priority sub-sectors with high potential for growth and employment.
Some of these priority sub-sectors include four closely related areas⏤ tourism, aviation, logistics, and transportation. At the heart of these 4 sub-sectors, is RwandAir⏤ the national airline of Rwanda and one of the world’s fastest-growing carriers. It has a modern fleet of 14 aircraft, including a freighter servicing 24 destinations across Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.
For Rwanda, the airline plays a much more important role, than just being a commercial entity. It is a key enabler of the country’s efforts to position itself as a regional service, tourism and conference hub. This is the reason the country has invested and continues to invest significantly in not only modern aircraft but also its aviation infrastructure as well as the relevant soft skills and a supporting ecosystem.
Leading this vital national carrier, is Yvonne Manzi Makolo, the CEO since April 2018.
Prior to being named CEO, she was the airline’s Deputy CEO.
Before joining the aviation sector, Yvonne, spent nearly 11 years at Rwanda’s leading telco, MTN Rwanda (November 2006 – April 2017), rising to become the telco’s Chief Marketing Officer.
On her LinkedIn page, she describes herself as an “aviation professional with a strong commercial background gained in the ICT and telecommunication sector in Rwanda and Canada”. She also describes herself as a “senior executive with a proven ability to provide innovative and forward-thinking leadership”.
In recognition of her leadership skills and experience, she in June last year was elected Chair of the IATA Board of Governors (BoG) for a one-year term, becoming the 81st chair of the IATA BoG and the first woman to take on this role.
IATA is the trade association for the world’s airlines, representing some 320 airlines that control 83% of total global air traffic. The IATA Board of Governors (BoG) exercises both oversight and executive role, including the general management and control of the business, affairs, funds, and property of IATA, on behalf of the membership as a whole.
Before being elected Board Chair, she was serving on the IATA BoG since November 2020.
Yvonne Makolo holds a BA Hons degree from McGill University in Canada and a Post Graduate Diploma in Applied Information Technology.