Rwanda celebrates Global Entrepreneurship week with the world

Global Entrepreneurship Week, a busy week in which entrepreneurship is celebrated to inspire future entrepreneurs and support start-ups, closed last weekend.

The week is a worldwide series of event that takes place every year. From Nov. 12 to 18, Rwanda participated for the second year. The week included more than 45 activities and events aimed at promoting entrepreneurship, business and private-sector growth.

This year’s theme was “Empowering youth and women for productivity.”

Remarkable activities that took place during Rwanda’s Global Entrepreneurship Week included, among others:  Ashoka’s social entrepreneurship safaris-tours to discover most accomplished Rwandan social innovators, a real business accelerator entrepreneurship competition, women’s entrepreneurship awards hosted by Women for Women, and a series of workshops for university entrepreneurship clubs.

Ashoka, which organized the social entrepreneurship safaris, is a civil-society group that identifies and supports social entrepreneurs who change society. “Ashoka’s social entrepreneurship safaris have enabled a diverse group of people, from students to business people to policymakers, to learn about and experience the potential and impact of social entrepreneurship in Rwanda,” Carolien Vis, the country associate for Rwanda from Ashoka East Africa, told Vijana FM.

Another inspiring event was the real business accelerator, which was a week-long competition to find Rwanda’s next entrepreneur superstar. The winner was Teta Isibo, the founder of Inzuki Designs, which is a dynamic Rwandan brand specializing in jewelry and interior decor. She received the Banque Populaire Entrepreneurship Award 2012, 2 million francs, mentorship, office space and an opportunity to represent Rwanda in the pan-African Meet Lions business competition in South Africa.

“I am really excited. It was a tough competition. I am happy that I won the competition,” said Ms. Isibo after the Rwandan entrepreneurship week’s closing ceremony.

The closing ceremony took place at the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology auditorium. Rosemary Mbabazi, the permanent secretary of Ministry of Youth and ICT, gave the closing remarks. During her speech, she thanked all organizers, partners and sponsors.

“GEW is a one-time event, but it is continuous,” noted Mrs. Mbabazi. “The government of Rwanda is very focused on promoting entrepreneurship.”

“This is still the work of government, but we acknowledge what other organizations are doing,” added Mrs. Mbabazi.

GEW 2012 was hosted nationally by the Babson-Rwanda Entrepreneurship Center.