Norrsken, a global entrepreneurship centre, has set aside $12 million for its Kigali Campus, which will target startups in Rwanda as well as the East African entrepreneurship scene. The campus, which is set to open in September 2021, will be the first of its kind in the world. Norrsken bought a plot of land in the city centre from a former Belgian school to create what would be East Africa’s largest entrepreneur hub.

The hub will house a mix of startups, incubators, accelerators, investors, lawyers, accountants and other corporates, forming an ecosystem that enables entrepreneurs to build strong companies that solve local and global challenges.  

“Local entrepreneurs have been working on great ideas with potential to solve some of the world’s toughest challenges. However, they face scalability challenges due to limited resources and lack of powerful networks. Norrsken will provide an opportunity for such entrepreneurs to not only build useful products but also be able to reach as many people as possible in East Africa and beyond,” said Pascal Murasira, the Managing Director for Norrsken in East Africa. 

Why Rwanda?

Norrsken said it chose Rwanda as the base for its East Africa because of the country’s progress over the last decade on infrastructure, increasing internet penetration and improvement in its business environment.

Rwanda’s ease of doing business has significantly improved in 2019. The country ranked higher than any African country on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business list — 29th, even before Spain.

Even with a relatively small population (12 million) and tech scene, the government of Rwanda has prioritized tech events and development in the country. This includes becoming a leader on drone delivery and regulatory systems, working most notably with San Francisco based UAV startup Zipline.

“The legal ecosystem is evolving rapidly to become one of the most conducive for entrepreneurs across Africa. This will make it even easier for Norrsken to accelerate the growth of local startups towards unicorn status,” Murasira said

“Evolving legal environment, the creation of Kigali International Finance Centre, and top universities such as ALU and Carnegie Mellon starting to release highly qualified graduates — just to name a few,” he added.

Of the East African countries from which Norrksen will source investments, Kenya stands out as one of the continent’s top hubs for tech startup formation, VC, and exits. 

Norrsken opened its second global centre in Rwanda in 2019, following the Stockholm (Sweden) hub, which is expected to help Rwanda achieve its goal of becoming a regional entrepreneurship and innovation hub.

Why Norrsken’s Presence In Rwanda Is Important For East African Startups As A Whole

The launch of Norrsken’s Kigali center in 2019 is so important and significant for startups in East Africa because this is Norrsken’s first launch outside of Sweden. The organization is hoping to open up 25 markets globally over the next decade.

Formed in 2016 by Niklas Adalberth, the founder of Swedish payments solutions unicorn Klarna, Norrsken aims to support impact-driven, early-stage ventures. Engellau-Nilsson was an executive with Adalberth at Klarna from 2013 to 2017.

“We wanted to use our experience and tech to solve real problems instead of finding another way to do things like deliver burrito’s faster,” said Engellau-Nilsson.

Norrsken has already invested in 17 ventures, including three Africa-focused startups- agtech company Wefarm, digital publisher Kognity, and weather forecasting firm Ignitia. Over 340 entrepreneurs and 120 companies currently work out of Norrsken’s Stockholm location.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer