Sangwa Rwabuhihi has been appointed the new General Manager of Westerwelle Startup Haus Kigali, a Germany-owned business and technology hub which opened in Kigali last year. This is according to a statement by the organisation. Rwabuhihi has been working as the Chief Technology Officer at AC Group, a technology company behind the popular Tap&Go transportation system. He had worked at AC Group for two years. Rwabuhihi is a software industries and IT Investment expert. In 2012, he started Hino Limited, a software company specialised in user interfaces for the African market. He worked for three years as a software engineer in the German automotive and medical industry working on projects for Daimler AG, Miele & Cie. KG and Bbraun AG. The startup, which he will manage, currently offers co-working space for entrepreneurs and a makers’ space with a focus on a product design and innovation. The Westerwelle Startup Haus was set up by Westerwelle Foundation, and currently houses over 20 local startups. The Foundation was established by former Germany Foreign Affairs Minister, Guido Westerwelle. The hub is now home to startups like Pikiwash (service provider for moto-taxis), BeneFactors (a local factoring firm), Sana Initiative, FinanceYou (a finance and book keeping startup), Umva (translating platform), and Ki-pepeo kids. Late last year during the official launch of the hub, Michael Mronz, the Foundation’s Chairman, indicated that the decision to set up such a hub was to give home to people who are thinking to develop their own companies and give them a chance to establish their ventures as well as build capacities. Rwabuhihi comes on board to drive the hub to its target of supporting entrepreneurs. He brings diverse technology experience having worked in tech industry for quite some time. From 2003 to 2006, he was a senior member of the Global Youth Parliament (GYP) Steering Committee, a worldwide network of youth activists representing their cities and working to develop a Global-Local Agenda for the year 2020. Rwabuhihi graduated from the University of Kaiserslautern in software engineering and he speaks fluently German, French, English and Kinyarwanda. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
