Call for Applications for Start-Ups to Receive Capacity-Building Support

The Westerwelle Startup Haus Kigali Entrepreneurship Program 2021 (WSHKEP21) is offering capacity building support for start-ups operating in Rwanda by providing access to quality infrastructure as well as tailor-made services to support their business growth. The Westerwelle Startup Kigali Entrepreneurship Program is designed to support early stage start-ups in Rwanda to create scalable businesses and integrate them deeply within the existing local starting ecosystem to facilitate knowledge sharing and peer learning. The WSHKEP21 is sponsored by the Westerwelle Foundation for International Understanding, a German-based non-profit organization.

Selected applicants will be granted a 9-month membership subscription beginning November 15, 2020, to Westerwelle Startup Haus Kigali. This includes access to mentoring sessions with experienced entrepreneurs, corporate partnership networking/facilitation, investment opportunity networking/facilitation, business diagnostic services, and workshops on topics including:

• Business & financial management
• Corporate governance
• Market research and competitor analysis
• Leadership skills analysis
• Sales and marketing

It also includes access to amenities such as:

• Access to a fixed working space including kitchen facilities
• Access to meeting rooms
• Event priority if fully booked
• Own locker
• Mail service
• Access to high-speed internet provided by Liquid
• Hall of Fame feature
• Marketing feature

To apply, applicants must submit their startup ideas through the relevant online application form before November 15th, 2020 (GMT+2 23:59). Qualified applicants will be notified via email of their successful submission. Please click here to apply: Application Form.

To find out more details about the program, please read the Terms&Conditions.

Ministry of Youth and Culture & Partners Launch the Young Entrepreneur’s Resilience Fund

On October 29, 2020, the Ministry of Youth and Culture (MYCULTURE), the United Nations Development Programme, the Korea International Cooperation Agency and other partners launched the Young Entrepreneurs Resilience Fund (the Fund) to support young entrepreneurs whose businesses have been negatively affected by COVID-19 or who have developed an innovation in response to the pandemic.

The 500 million Rwandan Francs fund aims to help young entrepreneurs recover from COVID-19 and to play a role in its prevention. This intervention was initiated based on results from a rapid survey conducted by MYCULTURE to assess the effects of COVID-19 on youth-led businesses. Eligibility criteria includes:

• For existing businesses (which must have been in operation prior to January 2019), business owners must be Rwandan youth living in Rwanda between the ages of 16 and 35
• For new innovations created as a response to COVID-19, business owners must be Rwandan youth living in Rwanda between the ages of 16 and 30

The application deadline is on 18th November 2020.

For more information on the Fund, please visit: https://bit.ly/3mNejGX.

For any questions, please contact (+250) 785270318; info@myculture.gov.rw or (+250) 788235468/785270318; irona1consultants@gmail.com

References: https://bit.ly/3mQGCEG