Month: April 2022

[Rwanda] CcHUB and Google unveil 9 Startups selected for the Fintech Incubation Programme

Nigeria’s technology innovation centre Co-creation Hub (CcHUB) in collaboration with Google, Ministry of ICT and Innovation Rwanda, and Mojaloop Foundation has announced the nine startups selected for the Fintech Incubation Programme. 

The Fintech Innovation Project which consists of the Fintech Incubation Programme and other developmental programmes is a part of the ongoing efforts to turn Rwanda into the Fintech hub for Africa with Mojaloop as the national payments switch. The programme aligns with Rwanda’s ambition to drive inclusive economic development by leveraging technology.

The selected startups are

  • KudiBooks; a payment and accounting software for non-finance and non-accounting professionals targeting SMEs across Africa. They help users send and receive payments from their preferred financial institution within Kudibooks.
  • Food Bundles; is leveraging digital technology to improve market links for smallholder farmers and meet the growing demand for fresh food produce. The platform helps farmers participate in e-commerce, get paid on their mobile money, and more! 
  • Quiqpay; is leveraging digital technology to improve market links for smallholder farmers and meet the growing demand for fresh food produce. The platform helps farmers participate in e-commerce, get paid on their mobile money, and more! 
  • Bafana.io; This amazing startup is giving over 1200 African artists and creatives a personal page where they can easily share their work and a digital wallet to collect tips/payments from their fans around the world.
  • Uplus Mutual Partners (Uplus); is a digital group financing platform where people can efficiently raise funds and savings with their family, friends, and colleagues. 
  • PesaChoice; is a financial technology company that focuses on data-based lending. The startup offers short term loans without the requirement of collateral.
  • CentWise; aims to unlock financial access for micro traders such as street vendors and hawkers by building alternative collateral products. The company converts financial data into bankable profile insights.
  • PayingTone; is a marketplace that provides ecologically trackable products and services on credit. The platform brings a digital product passport technology to enable a gamified ecological footprint tracker for recurring consumption customers.
  • Exuus; is a FinTech company working towards achieving universal financial inclusion for both the unserved and underserved through technology. The company’s flagship product SAVE is a digital & inclusive wallet that allows users to manage both their savings (individually and/or in saving groups) and spendings.

Over the next three months, CcHUB will be supporting the teams to achieve product stability and scalability, market readiness and investment. They will be able to leverage mentorship from industry and domain experts while taking advantage of Google products and Mojaloop.

This first cohort of the program will conclude with a demo day in July, 2022 where the startups will present to investors through the CcHUB syndicate. 

cchubnigeria.com

Rwanda launches Fourth Industrial Revolution Center

The Rwandan government has consistently and deliberately worked to nurture progressive technology-oriented ideas from its youthful population.

In 2019, the country launched a locally built-from-scratch high-tech smartphone, the first of its kind in Africa.  Made by the Mara Group, the Mara X model and the Mara Z model became the first smartphones fully built in Africa.

The recent launch of Center for The Fourth Industrial Revolution(C4IR) marks yet another milestone for Rwanda’s technology space. The Center is expected to accelerate the country’s digital uptake by acting as a hub for innovation and growth.

“The vision of this centre is to shape the trajectory of Rwanda’s digital transformation through progressive technology governance that is agile and human-centered, in order to respond to the most pressing challenges for us as a country and for the broader benefit of Africa. “ Said Paul Ingabire, Rwanda’s Minister of Information Communication Technology and Innovation.

The project was undertaken in partnership with the World Economic Forum(WEF), part of its mission being to help in the formulation of the country’s laws and policies regarding artificial intelligence.

“The launch of this center is enabled by investments that we, as a country, have been making in science and technology. I hope the centre will build on this by making the Fourth Industrial Revolution an equalising force, and contributing solutions to some of today’s most pressing challenges. We are very happy to have the World Economic Forum as a partner in this crucial and other endeavours,” Rwandan President Paul Kagame during the launch of C4IR.

Rwanda has seen substantial growth in its technology uptake, making it a competitive hub for investors. Efforts by the government and its partners to support innovation have seen a sharp rise in innovative products meant to solve various challenges for the country and the continent.

“Our continent has a unique competitive advantage which stems from an undeniably entrepreneurial spirit that is built-in to our young generations.” Said Ingabire. “Through focused investment and policymaking, we can harness this spirit to solve problems that address underserved communities who make up the majority of the world’s population.”

www.c4ir.rw