As Africa continues to witness a thriving start-up community that is driving socioeconomic transformation, industry actors believe that the sought-after development lies in harnessing such potential. ALSO READ: The brilliant rise of startups in Africa Pascal Murasira, Rwandan entrepreneur and former Managing Director of Norrsken East Africa—Africa’s biggest hub for entrepreneurship—seeks to introduce a new investment fund in creating co-working spaces for innovative start-ups in Africa and the Middle East. While many start-ups fail to keep track of continuity with most collapsing within the first few years, Murasira notes that there should be a special focus on building an ecosystem that brings key stakeholders in one place for easy channeling of the required investments to succeed. “Investing in physical infrastructure brings the sense of attachment and sustainability of the ecosystem.” According to him, setting up a wholesome innovative tech and entrepreneurship ecosystem requires good conducive policies, role models that can inspire a culture of success, investing in education for skills and talents, and creating a blend of entertainment to keep the workplace vibrant. “My next step is to establish a fund that can bring the experience of Rwanda’s innovation ecosystem to other countries. We already have demand and we will adjust to local realities in those markets.” ALSO READ: Zambia’s President wants “Norrsken concept” in Lusaka Having all players like the start-up themselves, investors, incubators, accelerators, lawyers, and other stakeholders under one roof makes it easier for entrepreneurs to be discoverable, he said, adding that it also allows capacity-building and attracting talents and skills for hire. The estimated $100 million fund which is expected to be mobilised by the end of 2024, will be domiciled in Kigali, Murasira told The New Times. His experience at Norrsken East Africa became an eye-opener to the tremendous work that could be realised within a short time and bear a long-lasting impact. The entrepreneurship hub built in a span of three years is home to more than 1,000 tech start-up and SME entrepreneurs, investors, world-class talent, and start-up enablers from across the continent. Building this hub in a period when the world was faced with challenges of Covid-19 and global supply chain disruptions, Murasira, noted that it was a big lesson of commitment and being strategic, which, in large part, informs his next move. Rwanda being one of the most existing policy progressive economies to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, he said, the private sector holds crucial responsibility to drive the intended goals. “Yes, the policies are very important but we also need to make sure the private sector understands its role to make that ecosystem complete. This is something we’ve been really working on.” One of the recent policy developments in Rwanda is the potential implementation of a Startup Act that could see all tech-based industry stakeholders incentivised to participate within the life cycle of a start-up from investors, entrepreneurs, and the start-up itself. Among other initiatives to boost start-up growth in the country include the Sandbox, a regulatory framework that allows fintechs to test and launch cutting-edge innovative solutions in financial products and services, within a scope of 12 months. Despite 2023 being a challenging year for African start-ups to cloud in investments, Rwanda saw a sharp increase to $44 million, up from $4.3 million in 2022, mainly due to Kasha, an e-health platform that raked in $21 million investment, according to the 9th African Tech Startups Funding Report by Disrupt Africa.
