Five start-ups win financial support

Five start-up businesses have been identified for funding by Generation Rwanda after winning an entrepreneurship competition.Okaziyo Ltd, Yellow Counts, FemmeNet (Project of E-Solution Company), Masterpiece Bakery, and Clean & Green Charcoal projects were the best and lucky five that won Rwf125 million in the competition. A total of 46 Rwandan university students grouped into 13 teams entered the competition organised by Generation Rwanda in May and received detailed feedback on their plans from a group of business people and investors from London and the US.Masterpiece Bakery walked away with the biggest chunk–Rwf52.4 million–followed by Clean and Green Charcoal, that won Rwf46 million.E-Solution (Rwf16 million), Yellow Counts won Rwf8.5 million, and Okaziyo Ltd Rwf11 million.They were announced last week in Kigali.Okaziyo Limited business idea is about buying and selling second hand items by trading online. The business has already been in existence and it was the first time to enter such competition with their winning business idea, according to Jean d’Amour Mutoni, one of the firm co-founders. Yellow Counts will focus on producing yellow-yolk eggs, to be supplied at affordable prices to people from or visiting Nyamata town, Bugesera District.“As we have embraced job creation spirit, we are happy to get this chance of getting support and assistance to implement our business ideas,’’ said Aimé Nshizirungu, a graduate from the National University of Rwanda, on behalf of Yellow Counts.E-Solution’s business idea is to fight unwanted pregnancies, while Dream Team seeks to invest in coffee.Speaking at the recognition ceremony, Charles Rukikanshuro, the country director of Generation Rwanda, said the competition aimed at fostering hard work among young entrepreneurs and giving them a chance of being linked to partners to implement their business ideas.“We have looked for investors to help implement the best business ideas through buying shares. Those investors will choose the business projects to finance according to their wishes,’’ Rukikanshuro said. The firm will spend about Rwf140m on the start-ups.Generation Rwanda, a local NGO that funds education for vulnerable and orphaned students, promised that apart from the winners other participants would be connected to potential investors.Rwanda Development Board will also connect the winners to mentors, local and international markets, according to Livingstone Nkuusi, the director of small and medium scale enterprises director in the ageny.