Two local accelerator hubs paired up to scoop up to €100,000 (around Rwf108 million) from Make-IT in Africa’s Partners in Acceleration contest. BPN Rwanda and BAG Innovation were July 14 announced as one of the four winners of the challenge fund for innovation hubs. Their project, The Loop Acceleration Rwanda, aims to amplify the growth of 10 to 15 high potential education startups with founders between 18-25 years. A Germany-sponsored tech entrepreneurship initiative, Make-IT in Africa supports digital innovations through a handful of programs on the African continent. The challenge fund for innovation hubs intends to promote the development of new approaches to empower digital startups. Loop and all the winning projects had to pitch projects that can be implemented under the current restrictions of the Covid-19 pandemic. With its network of seasoned enterprises, the Business Professional Network (BPN) will connect the young founders with experienced mentors. Whereas, as an edtech hub bridging school and work, BAG Innovation will be responsible for training delivery and facilitation of the entire project. Other three winners are the Innohub Foundation (Ghana), iBizAfrica Strathmore University & Pangea Accelerator (Kenya) and Centre for Values in Leader & Greenhouse Capital (Nigeria). Innohub project will support 10 youth-led agritech startups through a 3-month investment readiness program The Kenyan project will help 10 women and youth agritech enterprises grow by adopting innovations that can increase food security. In Nigeria, the programme will implement a 3-month leadership-focused accelerator that supports 10 female-led and female-focused growth-stage African fintech companies. Founded by Gabriel Ekman, a Swedish national and Yussouf Ntwali, a Rwandan in 2017, BAG Innovation has defined a unique approach to fill skill gaps between graduates and employers, mainly through business consultancy and virtual internship. On the other hand, BPN Rwanda is a Swiss nonprofit providing coaching services and equipment loans to support the development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises.
