Partnering with Tony Blair Institute to boost African startups

Africa Accelerator Rwanda

Ag-tech accelerator project in Rwandan capital Kigali is partnership’s first project. The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) and Katapult have formed a partnership to support impact-tech startups in Africa.

The partnership aims to support the best impact tech entrepreneurs across Africa by strengthening the scaling ecosystem for startups and funnelling global and regional capital towards impact investments. The partners’ first project together is an impact tech accelerator project in Kigali, Rwanda, funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), a directorate under the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA). The project will support tech startups in Rwanda and elsewhere in Africa as well as an investor network through accelerator and investor train- ing programmes, and invest in the best startups.

Norad’s support for the Katapult accelerator program in Kigali – one of the fastest growing startup and tech eco-systems in the world — is part of their global strategy to be a catalyst for the development of new and sustainable businesses.

TBI’s Executive Director for Africa Rishon Chimboza said:

“I am delighted that TBI is partnering with Katapult to support Rwanda’s ag-tech startups, and to build an investor network to help these businesses thrive and grow.

“Scalable businesses can play a vital role in Africa’s eco- nomic future, and given the right support, with public and private sectors working together, they can grow rapidly.

“We hope this project will help create new jobs, drive economic development and provide capital for new and innovative solutions for food security in Rwanda and the wider region.”

Tharald Nustad, founder and owner of Katapult said: “The timing for scalable tech solutions is now, and with fast growing urbanization, a tech savvy young population, we are ready to build the future of tech-business from Rwanda! We both share the belief that building rapidly scalable businesses in collaboration with both public and private parties is one of the best ways to solve the grand challenges the world is facing.”

The partnership between TBI and Katapult will draw on the respective partners’ knowledge and expertise.

Go to Katapult Africa to learn more. 

About the Tony Blair Institute

TBI equips political leaders and governments with the tools they need to create open, inclusive and prosperous societies in a globalised world. TBI has been working alongside the government of Rwanda since 2008, building capacity and delivery functions of key agencies across government, including in the agriculture and ICT sectors and also works with the government to attract private investments.

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