Kigali based entrepreneurship hub to invest $12m in Rwanda’s start-up scene

Norrsken, a global Entrepreneurship hub has earmarked $12m for investment into the local and regional entrepreneurship scene through their Kigali Campus.

The campus is expected to commence operations in September 2021.

Norrsken purchased the plot of the former Belgian school in the city centre to build what will become the biggest hub for entrepreneurs in East Africa.

The hub will house a mix of start-ups, incubators, accelerators, investors, lawyers, accountants and other corporates, forming an ecosystem that enables entrepreneurs to build strong companies that solve local and global challenges.

Norrsken announced its debut in Rwanda in 2019 which is its second global hub after Stockholm (Sweden) hub and is expected to boost Rwanda’s vision to become a regional entrepreneurship and innovation hub.

Pascal Murasira, the Managing Director for Norrsken in East Africa said that their involvement in the local and regional scene is among other things informed by challenges in the entrepreneurial scene.

“Local entrepreneurs have been working on great ideas with the potential to solve some of the world’s toughest challenges. However, they face scalability challenges due to limited resources and a lack of powerful networks. Norrsken will provide an opportunity for such entrepreneurs to not only build useful products but also be able to reach as many people as possible in East Africa and beyond,” he said.

Among the opportunities in the local ecosystem easing entry and operations, the firm says includes the legal ecosystem making it easier for the firm to accelerate the growth of start-ups.

“The legal ecosystem is evolving rapidly to become one of the most conducive for entrepreneurs across Africa. This will make it even easier for Norrsken to accelerate the growth of local startups towards unicorn status,” he said

“Evolving legal environment, the creation of Kigali International Finance Centre, and top universities such as ALU and Carnegie Mellon starting to release highly qualified graduates - just to name a few,” he added.

Murasira said that they are seeking to work with like-minded partners from corporations to nonprofits to boost the local and regional entrepreneurship scene.