Josiane Dusabemariya: 
Thriving through fashion

When Josiane Dusabemariya from Kigali, Rwanda, joined the garment company Pink Mango Asantii, she was new to fashion. Now, their training programme has transformed her skills, allowing her to produce high-quality garments confidently. Decent working conditions and an above-average income have greatly improved her family’s livelihood.

Josiane Dusabemariya is 35 years old and lives with her husband and two children on the outskirts of Rwanda’s capital Kigali. She has completed secondary education and only ever held part-time jobs when a friend told her that the garment company Pink Mango Asantii was hiring in the nearby Kigali Special Economic Zone. Although Josiane could barely fix trousers or adjust dresses for a better fit, she secured the job in December 2021. However, she did not just gain a job – she found a passion, thanks to the empowering employment philosophy of Pink Mango Asantii.

With an open-ended and well-paying contract offering stability, Josiane could focus on improving her garment manufacturing and leadership skills under Pink Mango Asantii’s comprehensive training programme supported by Invest for Jobs. The programme aims to equip at least 360 Rwandans, predominantly women and young people, with the skills needed for premium fashion production and place at least 300 of them in new good jobs at the company.

As part of the inaugural cohort of 60 people, Josiane joined the on-the-job training programme in July 2023. She was one of the trainees who already worked at Pink Mango Asantii before starting the training programme. During six months training cycles, Josiane and her fellow trainees follow a comprehensive curriculum enabling them to produce full garments and eventually, take over responsibilities such as buyer communication or order planning.

Learning the technical and soft skills required to produce premium fashion

The training programme is well designed, Josiane says. Step by step, she learnt the skills necessary to produce premium fashion in an industrial setting. When the training programme started, her initial skills were ranked at D (basic skills) on a scale from E (no prior experience) to A++ (production supervisor). From the trainers, she learnt how to operate new machines, maintain them and fix some parts herself. Josiane has quickly learned that when producing premium fashion, quality is paramount. Further skills she learnt are related to detecting and solving quality defects, occupational safety and health, conflict solving, first aid or firefighting. All trainers are friendly and supportive, she reports, making her feel comfortable when asking for advice. Moreover, she values the company’s collaborative spirit, where peer-to-peer support among colleagues is encouraged.

“I know many garment workers elsewhere who wish to join Pink Mango Asantii and its training programme.”

Josiane Dusabemariya

In addition, she appreciates how Pink Mango Asantii empowers its workers to express their potential. For example, even though she is still new to the industry, she has had the chance to practice her first leadership skills, taking on some responsibilities of her supervisors during their absence. She had never experienced a similar work culture before, which has tremendously boosted her confidence in her capabilities. Every six months, her technical and soft skills are assessed and ranked anew, opening up new learning opportunities as she improves. By the end of the overall training programme in February 2026, she wants to have reached an A+, which would enable her to set and plan for her team’s daily production targets.

Josiane appreciates the decent working hours with structured schedules, paid overtime, flexible annual leave, and numerous social benefits. She likes how the company cares for its employees and their families. Subsidised grocery sales, free lunch and menstrual hygiene products, company support for maternity and paternity leave, free childcare in Asantii’s own nursery as well as educational support for the kids of employees, social security memberships and many more aspects are part of the company’s welfare programme Pink Ubuntu.

Working at Pink Mango Asantii helped improving Josiane’s family’s livelihood

With her job at Pink Mango Asantii, Josiane can contribute to her family’s income and improve their livelihoods. As her husband works, too, they together can pay for quality education for their children, which is expensive in Rwanda relative to average incomes. They can now comfortably afford a decent living despite rising living costs in Kigali. Josiane is incredibly proud of achieving personal milestones, such as buying a plot of land. 

“I have developed a passion – dreaming of establishing my own tailoring business in the future.”

Josiane Dusabemariya

Reflecting on her personal development, Josiane remembers she was not fond of tailoring before, but now, Pink Mango Asantii has inspired her a lot. She has developed a strong passion for her craft, aspiring to establish her own fashion boutique sometime in the future. There is, however, still a lot to learn, she admits. Whether her dream eventually comes true or not, Josiane knows one thing for sure: she has a burning desire to continue making an impact and support others who have not had the chance to join Pink Mango Asantii’s training programme.