Three emerging Rwandan enterprises on Wednesday evening received about $95,000 in investments from venture capitalists with a promise of further negotiations for other investments. At a session dubbed ‘Face The Gorrillas’ held on the sidelines of the just-concluded Transform Africa forum, five young emerging entrepreneurs were invited to pitch their business models before international investment moguls with the hope of acquiring capital for their businesses. The panel session took after the popular American television series ‘Shark Tank’ where emerging entrepreneurs present ideas to billionaires looking for investment and mentorship. Organised by the ICT chamber of the Private Sector Federation, Tigo, K-Lab (a local tech incubator) and the Ministry of Youth and ICT, the session was aimed at facilitating emerging entrepreneurs to access finance, which has been a key challenge for most of them. Prior to the session, emerging young business people from the region had been invited to present their businesses that required additional funding for review. Alex Ntale, the executive director of the ICT chamber, said they were looking for tangible products and services and not ideas. The investors listening to the pitches included Eugene Nyagahene, the chairman of TELE10 Group, Jeff Gasana, the co-founder of SMS Media, Angela Homsi, a global impact investor, Amir Sheikh, a global investor, and Binbrek Shyma, the head of strategy and business evolution at Tigo. The investors were keen on the business models that the firms were using, the profitability of their ventures, the previous performance of the business and the stake they were being offered to buy into the emerging enterprises. The youthful entrepreneurs were given five minutes each to pitch their ideas, followed by 10 minutes of questions before opening up negotiations. Among the firms that attracted investments was Megrims Market Ltd, which facilitates Diaspora remittances through a mobile application that connects Rwandans abroad with those back home so they can purchase items for relatives and loved ones back home. Louis Antoine Muhire, the CEO and founder of Mergims, was seeking $50,000 for the expansion of his firm. After brief negotiations with Gasana, his firm received the sum he was seeking. Another firm that pulled investors was Vuga Pay, a solution developed by two high school students to facilitate cross-border networking and money transfers. The solution presented by Patrick Muhire and Cedrick Muhoza was seeking $20,000 for 10 per cent equity of their firm. Amir Sheikh and Angela Homsi jointly agreed to invest in the firm after brief negations. Jean Niyotwagira, the CEO and founder of Torque, a software development firm that specialises in product distribution channels, attracted the interest of the investors with Nyagahene investing $25,000 and Amir Sheikh seeking to negotiate further. Negotiations are also set to continue between another firm, Tango TV and investors after two investors expressed competing interest to invest in it. The firm was seeking investment of $500,000 for 20 per cent stake in the firm. The investors spoke highly of the entrepreneurial zeal showcased by the young innovators, saying it was a true representation of young entrepreneurs in the country. Yariv Cohen, the chairman of Kaenaat – a venture capital firm, who moderated the session, said over the years he had noted an improvement in the quality of startups and ideas in the country. To further facilitate the investment climate, Nyagahene promised to set aside $200,000 in the next year to invest in startups in the country. A similar pitching session is set to take place on November 13, where members of Young Presidents Organisation (YPO), a network of chief executives that exchange and share ideas for career, will listen to business concepts and fund some of them. Applications are open through the ICT chamber of the Private Sector Federation.
