100 CEOs for ‘Inspire Africa’ Grand Finale

More than 100 Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of top firms in the region are expected to attend the grand finale of Inspire Africa, a reality television show aimed at mentoring young entrepreneurs, which is scheduled for April 1 in Kigali. The 13-week reality show features 24 contestants from Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, and will end in a colourful event where the contestant with the best business management skills will walk away with $50,000 in start-up capital.According to Nelson Tugume, the CEO of Inspire Africa, the finale of the show which is in its first season, is expected to draw top business executives from the region and beyond. It is organised in conjunction with Rwanda Development Board (RDB).“We wanted to get some young people and empower them with business skills. Rwanda welcomed the idea very well. So we decided to bring the contestants to Kigali for the final show.“On the same day we will also announce our plans to build a multi-million state-of-the-art Inspire Africa Academy and solicit for support. The top notch academy will be built in Rwanda,” Tugume said.Tugume said that the academy is estimated to cost $6m.The Inspire Africa Project founder said that when the project was introduced to Rwanda, as a programme that targets empowering young African entrepreneurs, the government together with the Private Sector Federation (PSF) agreed to support it.According to Tugume, the grand finale will be broadcast across East Africa.“We are targeting a viewership of about 60 million people. International media houses such CNN have also shown interest to cover the event,” Tugume says.The RDB head of human capital and institutional development division, Apollo Munanura, said that RDB took the decision to support the project because it is inline with the government programme to encourage entrepreneurial skills among young people.“Inspire Africa is about entrepreneurial development and empowering young people with business skills; this is one of the key priorities for the government and that’s why RDB choose to support it,” Munanura said.He noted that the programme is a good tool to empower young people who would like to join business or start SMEs. He said that many young people join the labour market annually but lack such skills.The show is in its 9th week with contestants currently in Kampala. It airs on RTV every Sunday and Monday, 10pm. Tugume said that since its launch, the viewership has increased, adding that a second season of the show will be even more popular.

National

100 CEOs for ‘Inspire Africa’ Grand Finale