Business Summary

Vision, Mission and Objectives

Product Range

Partnership and Support

Staff

Business summary

Drakkar Ltd is a Rwandan company that supplies books to schools, higher educational institutes, teachers, students and other customers in need of learning books. Drakkar was founded in 2006 and is Rwanda’s exclusive distributor for Pearson, the leading publisher for English language school books worldwide. In addition, Drakkar sells trade books, mass market paperbacks, children’s books and bargain books directly to customers. In 2012 Drakkar Ltd founded the Drakkar Foundation, which is a non-proft organization doing projects within education, entrepreneurship and environment. 
 

Vision

Drakkar’s vision is to create a culture of reading in Rwanda. To promote this, Drakkar provides high-quality textbooks for all levels of schooling, in all types of learning environments, all over the country and neighbouring countries such as Burundi. Rwanda’s reading culture is largely underdeveloped, which is reflected in the low use of books in schools. Drakkar believes that by increasing young people’s access to books and other reading material in school environments, they will be inspired to continue reading, even when they are at home.

 
Mission and Objectives

Drakkar aims to supply young people as well as those involved in the teaching profession with the necessary material and support to continuously learn, develop and improve their skills. Good and sufficient textbooks are an essential element of quality teaching, and it has been proven to contribute to retention of students and reduction of drop-out and repetition rates. Every school or learning environment is different and has its own specific requirements. Our objective is therefore to provide customized solutions and advice while always offering the best quality products and services.
 

Product Range

All our products are written by fully qualified authors and printed on prime quality paper that is long-lasting. In our online catalogue you can see all the Pearson primary, secondary and (soon) tertiary learning books. Our total product range includes:
  

    * Nursery textbooks
    * Primary textbooks
    * Secondary textbooks
    * Tertiary textbooks
    * Dictionaries
    * Readers (Junior African Writers Series)
    * Professional books, self-help

Partnerships and support 

Creating a reading culture in Rwanda is something we cannot do alone. Teachers, schools and students need to be supported to deal with the educational and personal challenges they face. This is why Drakkar and Pearson are engaging in a range of supportive activities:

1. We offer free teacher trainings to schools that make use of Pearson books. In 2011 trainings to primary teachers are provided in the districts of Rubavu, Kamonyi, Ngoma, Rusizi and Kigali (see our news section or visit facebook to see pictures of the workshops).
2. Drakkar is a member of the Rwanda Reads group, a platform of NGO's, ministry, publishers and other companies that aim to make Rwandan people aware of the importance of reading, by making more readers available to children, and by stimulating schools and parents to read.
3. We collaborate with educational newspaper Oasis Gazette by sponsoring their My Best Future Events, where talented students are awarded for their skills in debating, quiz and sports.
4. Drakkar organises and coordinates a movement of creative volunteers that visit primary schools on Saturdays to engage pupils in creative exercises and fun games (see also our news section)
5. In cooperation with USAID, Drakkar has implemented a project to increase literacy in primary grades. 

Drakkar is always looking for more partnerships with companies, organizations, institutes and sponsors. Together we'd like to search for new and innovative ways to increase access to reading and improve the quality of education. We see it as our shared responsibility to:

• Provide teacher training and other incentives that guide and motivate teachers to deliver good education.

• Improve the book-pupil ratio in primary and secondary schools by facilitating sponsorship arrangements and loans for schools with less resources.

• Make teaching, learning and reading fun for everybody.

Staff