Thirty three aspiring entrepreneurs from Rwanda and Kenya have joined the inaugural Class of Jasiri Fellows 2021 after they were selected for the JASIRI Talent Investor. Supported by the Allan & Gill Gray Philanthropy (AGGP) selects, JASIRI is a one-year fully-funded entrepreneurship programme that develops and invests in high potential aspiring entrepreneurs who demonstrate entrepreneurial potential and who are committed to creating business ventures. The programme takes young individuals who are exceptional in their fields and want to become entrepreneurs and then guide, fund and support them through their whole entrepreneurial journey. The JASIRI Talent Investor was officially launched on 7 December 2020 and welcomed applications from aspiring entrepreneurs from Rwanda and Kenya where over 2 200 applications were submitted. The application was followed by a rigorous competency-based selection process. JASIRI hosted a virtual induction and orientation event for the newly selected Fellows on April 24, during which the Rwanda Country Director, Aline Kabanda, motivated and encouraged Fellows to realize their entrepreneurial aspirations and create ventures that will contribute to transforming our Communities, and the Eastern Africa Region. ““Because we believe that the biggest challenge facing our continent is unemployment, we decided that, by supporting our entrepreneurs, we did the greatest leverage in order to ensure a meaningful path to employment and job creation,” she said. She further encouraged Fellows to rise about obstacles and see the opportunity in challenges. JASIRI CEO, Anthony Farr, noted that partners in both Rwanda and Kenya played a crucial role in supporting the recruitment initiatives for the Talent Investor which resulted in an exceptional pool of applicants. “We were impressed by the quality and determination of applicants and we are convinced that this first cohort of JASIRI Fellows could not have been reached without the remarkable support of various partners, and for this we are grateful,” Farr said. Selected entrepreneurs for the inaugural class of JASIRI Fellows 2021 will join the JASIRI Talent Investor, a fully-funded one-year program that will guide Fellows from idea generation, validation, prototyping, market entry to venture creation. The Talent Investor will introduce JASIRI Fellows to equally ambitious co-founders and will support them on an individual, team, and business level. “What we will do is to remove barriers to their entrepreneurship success. They will have access to mentorship, business coaching and strongly link them with industry experts,” explained Kabanda. Rwanda is the regional hub of Jasiri and candidates were selected from Rwanda and Kenya. According to Kabanda, the reason that sparked the decision to establish a regional hub for Jasiri in Rwanda is because their programme aligned with Rwanda’s strategic priorities on accelerating private sector towards economic growth with entrepreneurship as a key driver for job creation towards economic development.
