The Norrsken Foundation runs a coworking space in Stockholm and an impact accelerator program. In 2019, the organization announced the first hub for entrepreneurs in Rwanda.
The African country is a vibrant startup and tech ecosystem. Because of VC funding, the local market is growing faster than neighboring regions Lagos, Nairobi, Cairo, Cape Town, and Johannesburg.
Based in Kigali, the pilot project is the first hub for entrepreneurs outside Sweden. Over the next decade, the foundation aims to build 25 hubs worldwide. Thanks to the impact VC fund of €130 million, Norresken opened the new center in Rwanda.
The opening of the new hub in Kigali includes two phases. First, yesterday the center welcomed the first 250 entrepreneurs. Second, over 750 additional entrepreneurs will join the project by December 2022.
As Norrsken East Africa managing director Pascal Murasira says: “We have massive demand we can satisfy to become the biggest physical hub for startups in Africa. We believe Kigali is on a path to becoming one of Africa’s leading clusters for tech and startups. And we want to help accelerate that journey.”
To recap, the nonprofit organization aims to support worldwide startups and hubs for entrepreneurs. In addition to Norrsken House in Kigali, the foundation runs an Africa-focused seed fund. And they plan to invest from $100,000 to $1 million in the country. For example, their latest investments were for two Rwanda companies, PesaChoice and Viebeg.
So, startup incubators and hubs for entrepreneurs are more popular than ever. Despite the pandemic slowing down the process, new centers are spreading.
