PHOTOS: Imbuto’s iAccelerator provides new round of funding to top start-ups

The Innovation Accelerator (iAccelerator), a mentorship driven acceleration programme by Imbuto Foundation, has given USD $60,000 to six start-ups that showcased brilliant solutions in dealing with issues of sexual and reproductive health as well as mental health in Rwanda.The accelerator aims at supporting young entrepreneurs with seed funding, training and skills development to generate innovative solutions in response to challenges related to sexual and reproductive health, mental health, sexuality education, family planning, maternal health, and other population development issues.ALSO READ: PHOTOS: Imbuto Foundation, BAL celebrate African Day through UmugandaEach of the six start-ups that emerged top this year was awarded USD $10,000 to scale up their work.“Our goal is to cultivate self-reliant, responsible young individuals who will contribute to Rwanda’s growth and future. A young entrepreneur’s path is not easy, and there will be obstacles. Yet, never doubt your ability to overcome them,” said Elodie Shami, the Director General of Imbuto Foundation, while speaking at the award event in Kigali.The iAccelerator is supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Rwanda, as one of its key partners.Therese Mukarugwiza, an official who represented UNFPA at the event, praised iAccelerator as an initiative that was set up “so that the Rwandan youth can develop innovative projects and create solutions that are home-grown instead of waiting for foreign investors.”Rango Library, a Bugesera-based library that provides sexual and reproductive health education to the youth within the district to fight teen pregnancies, emerged as the best start-up in this year’s iAccelerator.ALSO READ: PHOTOS: A closer look at Kigali’s new mental health centreIts founders, Sonia Umwali and Aimée Jules Simbi, want to use the funding to get computers as well as expand their space and facilities so as to accommodate more readers.“We believe we will get solutions especially for rural communities in regards to the problems that they face,” Simbi said.Abdul Karim Sesay, the founder of Emotions, a phone application project aimed at improving young people’s mental health through fighting alcohol addiction, said: “We train mental health youth ambassadors and then they help deliver services to people addicted to alcohol with the help of mental health professionals. We are targeting young people because 28 percent of mental health issues in Rwanda are due to alcohol abuse.”“We want to use this funding to advance what we have. We have the first version of our prototype – the mobile application. We just want to improve it and add more to it. Tech solutions always require you to keep up to the trends of technology in order to sustain the market.”Sandrine Umutoni, the Minister of State for Youth and Arts, encouraged the youths to continue innovating and looking for solutions. She promised them government support.“Your commitment to creating transformative solutions is commendable. The government and its team partners are dedicated to continuing efforts towards a sustainable and prosperous Rwanda, through initiatives like these,” she noted.

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PHOTOS: Imbuto’s iAccelerator provides new round of funding to top start-ups