Local projects win Rwf109m in innovation competition

Nine local media projects have won funding worth Rwf109m in the first round of Rwanda Creative Hub’s competition sponsored by the Netherlands embassy in Rwanda. The nine were picked from over 82 projects that entered the competition. The winning projects will each receive between USD18000 and USD20000 (about Rwf17million) depending on the scope of the project, officials at Rwanda Creative Hub told The New Times yesterday. Implemented by Institute for War and Peace Reporting Rwanda (IWPR), the grants will mainly focus on enterprises within media, journalism, culture and arts. “More focus will be put on supporting job creation and positive impact on the economy through media, journalism and creativity,” said Johanne Møller, the Rwanda Creative Hub’s Business Development Manager. The nine winners of the first round of the grants represent a wide range of projects within TV production, digital media, mobile applications, animation and cartoons, educational content and business magazines. Michelle Rose, the Country Director of IWPR said that the level of media quality and diversity in Rwanda has since improved. “The level of quality and diversity within the application pool has been really impressive and we cannot wait to get started working with these nine very interesting projects in the Creative Hub,” Rose said. The next round of applications for the Rwanda Creative Hub grants will be in September 2014. IWPR RW LTD provides technical and senior level management consulting services in the media and creative industries sectors in Rwanda. The Creative Hub is a project under IWPR aiming to support job creation and positive impact on the economy through media, journalism and creativity. The winning projects · HeHe’s digital content platform (Nuntu) · Mento Pro’s 3D animated educational videos · Ze Corp - booking and buying bus tickets through mobile phones · Legacy45 and Rwanda Broadcasting Agency- National morning TV show · Home Cartoon Network - producing a series of 15 minutes cartoons for broadcasting · H magazine’s home design and interior décor innovation project · TV10’s weekly business programme, Business Agenda · The Village Mobile Movie - solar driven mobile movie kits for villages across Rwanda are some of the lucky winners for the grant. · *33# project providing mobile contact information on organizations, businesses and government institutions .

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Local projects win Rwf109m in innovation competition