What is it?

Rwanda is one of the most business friendly nations in the world, with a population and leadership that recognizes the key role that business creation can play in economic development. For the past year, seven Cambridge Beyond Profit members have been working to support this entrepreneurial energy through helping Rwandan students become the future business leaders of Rwanda and beyond.

In 2010 the Beyond Profit initiative, African Innovation Prize became Rwanda's first university hosted business plan competition at the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), catalyzing a host of new ideas, and the creation of a new business, Rwandan Environmental Design and Implementation, a company specializing in ecological waste management.

Now, in the second year of the African Innovation Prize we are piloting an educational workshop week that will reinforce the lessons of the business planning competition. Rwanda Entrepreneurship Week will inspire, support and develop business in Rwanda through training Rwandan university students in the hard and soft skills of entrepreneurship.

Taught by leading Rwandan entrepreneurs and organised by Cambridge students, the week will enable students at KIST and other Rwandan universities to engage in product development, understand different business models, learn how to analyse a market, build a team, network, measure performance, fund their initiatives, and much, much more!

Entrepreneurship and innovation created much of the wealth and growth that we see in the the developed world today: it can do the same for Rwanda. We are delighted to support these brilliant young entrepreneurs as they seek to create sustainable and locally driven business models, and in so doing, propel their nation towards a better future.

For the latest news on Rwanda Entrepreneurship Week and the African Innovation Prize please follow us on twitter and visit our blog or Twitter feed.

Also - the project leaders of Rwanda Entrepreneurship Week and the African Innovation Prize love to talk! If you are interested in finding out more, writing a piece on our work in Rwanda, or are an entrepreneurial firm interested in sponsoring a like-minded entrepreneurship initiative, then do please get in touch at: africaninnovationprize@gmail.com

Support Rwanda Entrepreneurship Week and Beyond Borders

Interested in supporting student entrepreneurship in Rwanda? There are two ways to support us!

If you are interested in corporate sponsorship, please contact africaninnovationprize@gmail.com