President Paul Kagame on Wednesday, November 8, launched the Norrsken House Kigali, a campus that is expected to contribute to the local and regional growing startup ecosystem.

Also known as Africa’s biggest hub for entrepreneurship, Norrsken House Kigali was unveiled on the first day of the Norrsken Africa week.

The hub, already home to over 1,200 local and foreign startups, is located in the commercial and business Centre of Kigali.

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Shortly after touring the campus, President Kagame pointed out that it is high time investors considered Africa as an opportunity for investments.

The Head of State was speaking to over 1,000 industry captains, including global investors, business and government delegates, and leading technology ecosystem stakeholders across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

"First of all, it is long overdue,” Kagame said, "that is why they need to really consider it.”

"I&039;ve never understood why there should be a particular geographical place where everything is to be underestimated or underrated and therefore the investors need to bear that in their minds that Africa has everything the rest of the world has, even more”

However, he pointed out, "When it comes to people, I think we should consider ourselves as equal with any other people anywhere in the world.”

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Kagame maintained that Africa has the capacity to tap into and grow and connect with the rest of the world, "for our own success but also for the success of the rest of the world so the investors need just not look at Africa as a big market which it is, but also a thriving society, that to a great extent will match or even supersede actually what exists elsewhere”

If considered, Kagame guaranteed that investors would achieve their set targets.

Sharing Rwanda’s experience as an investment destination, Kagame said that the government has been deliberate in creating a conducive environment not only for Rwandans but also for the rest of the world.

"That thinking therefore provides for an environment that lowers the risk anybody would face when they have taken a chance with us and believed in us that we can do things like that and do as expected, in terms of holding each other’s hand and moving forward,” he said.

Maximise benefits

The advent of technology should be pursued with the sense of maximizing the benefits and minimizing its dangers collectively, Kagame urged the innovators.

As a whole, he said, technology has a huge benefit, but it is important that people also bear in mind its dangers.

"Now there are even more concerns when it comes to artificial intelligence but those concerns should also be looked at in a sense that there are probably more benefits with artificial intelligence than many other technologies and therefore, we need to balance the two.”

He added, "Sometimes people tend to approach things with the either-or attitude, but I don't think that's what we should be doing, we should be looking at the extent of dangers and benefits and how to collectively make sure that the benefits override on the dangers.”

Beyond the risk is value

Kagame also reiterated the need to be more daring in pursuit of individual goals, citing that entrepreneurs should expect risk on the journey of growth.

"If anybody anywhere in this world is going to be to do something that is worthwhile, it's not going to be without risk. So, you have to choose to take the risk if you are trying to achieve something of a very high value.”

"We don't take the risk just for the sake of it, we take risk where risk must be taken. That is going to give us that value in what we want to achieve and therefore the two are correlated.”

The Norrsken Africa Week is considered the continent’s biggest technology and impact event, hosted at the Norrsken East Africa campus, Africa’s biggest hub for technology innovation and entrepreneurship.

Pascal Murasira, Managing Director of Norrsken East Africa said that the Norrsken Africa Week will go a long way in building Africa’s budding ecosystem and will serve as a major platform for African innovations to mobilise funds.

"Bringing global investors, African venture capital firms, and Limited Partners together to facilitate meaningful connections between African founders, global business leaders, public officials, and regulators is exactly why Norrsken House Kigali exists,”

"We’re proud not just to be the home of innovation, but also function as a clearing house for investors, talent, and innovators in Africa,” Murasira said, pointing out that initiatives like this and an enabling environment, similar to what Rwanda is doing, will unlock the potential of the continent’s very best of innovations.

The campus has previously hosted high-profile officials including Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema and United Kingdome Home Secretary Suella Braverman.