After receiving treatment for drug addiction and mental health conditions, Alain Nshimiyimana chose to help others understand the risks of substance abuse and ways to protect their mental health. Nshimiyimana, the director of Steps Initiative, was among six young innovators who received Rwf10 million each on Friday, September 11, to expand solutions addressing mental health and adolescent sexual and reproductive health challenges. ALSO READ: Imbuto’s iAccelerator provides new round of funding to top start-ups The awards were presented during Imbuto Foundation's iAccelerator Phase 7 final pitching and award ceremony at Kigali Convention Centre. Steps Initiative, which Nshimiyimana said was founded by young people he met at Huye Isange Rehabilitation Centre, has been working since 2021 to raise awareness about drug addiction and mental health. “We had problems with drug addiction and mental health conditions. We were fortunate to receive treatment, and now we are also helping Rwandan society in general,” he said. The organisation works with young people and communities to raise awareness about the effects of drug use, mental health challenges and ways of maintaining good mental health. Nshimiyimana said the Rwf10 million award, together with mentorship provided through the programme, would help the organisation expand its work. “One of the solutions we presented is a mobile phone application that allows someone to assess whether they have a problem with alcohol addiction or a mental health issue, access information about mental health, find nearby hospitals, and get access to a doctor who can help them without having to leave their home,” he said. He said Steps Initiative has conducted around 100 outreach activities, reached about 35 schools and worked with four rehabilitation centres. ALSO READ: 'We now have tangible, promising solutions': winners of iAccelerator funding The organisation currently works in Huye and Nyarugenge districts and plans to expand to other parts of the country. Other winners focused on challenges ranging from access to reproductive health information and menstrual products to early identification of mental health conditions. Theophile Tuyishime, co-founder of Ibanga, said the project provides reliable reproductive health information and products confidentially, responding to stigma that young people can face when seeking such services. “What we do at Ibanga is provide reliable information and reproductive health products confidentially. We found that young people face stigma when seeking this information,” he said. The project plans to use part of the funding to develop a prototype box through which young people can access reproductive health information, particularly in rural areas and schools where some young people may not have access to phones. Another winning project, Intambwe Pad Project, produces sanitary pads from banana stems that would otherwise be treated as waste. ALSO READ: iAccelerator contest returns, puts focus on mental issues, disability Evode Kwizera, a co-founder of the project, said the team had only produced samples and had not yet begun distributing the pads on a larger scale. “Our project produces sanitary pads to address the shortage of pads among adolescent girls, especially those in rural areas and rural schools,” he said. “The money we have received will help us produce the pads on a larger scale so that the people we identified as facing this problem, and who need the pads, can access them.” The period poverty challenge was also addressed by Street Haven, whose representatives said the venture conducts outreaches in schools, distributes pads and educates girls about menstrual health. Coulibaly Kenza, the venture’s co-founder, said the funding would help pay for pad dispensers, logistics and outreaches as the initiative expands its work. The venture plans to reach at least 50 schools and more than 30,000 girls. For mental health, Djuma Itangishaka won funding for the Tuza Smart Bracelet, a device designed to detect early signs of mental health disorders, anxiety and stress. The bracelet uses haptic vibrations to help calm users, while a mobile application can recommend exercises when they continue experiencing distress. Itangishaka said the solution is intended partly for people who cannot afford professional mental health support or who avoid seeking care because of stigma. Utunyange Voices, another winning project developed by Noella Lidvine Isingizwe, is focused on addressing misinformation about sexual and reproductive health circulating on social media. The project plans to establish a studio to produce accurate information for young people and make the facility available to other social impact projects producing similar content. The six projects were selected from 15 finalists in the seventh phase of iAccelerator, an initiative of Imbuto Foundation and partners that supports young people developing solutions to challenges affecting their communities. Elodie Shami, Director General of Imbuto Foundation, said the projects should increasingly focus on helping promising solutions and move beyond the idea stage and reach the people who need them. “We want them to move from 'I have an idea' to 'I'm doing something about it,'” she said. Shami also challenged partners to consider whether the iAccelerator programme should focus more on strengthening and scaling existing solutions instead of continuously creating new ones. She said young people can play a role in shaping solutions to challenges affecting their lives, including sexual and reproductive health and mental well-being. The Phase 7 of the programme provided the finalists with training, mentorship and pitching opportunities before the six winning solutions were selected for funding.
