About GEN in Rwanda

GEN has supported entrepreneurship activities in Rwanda since 2015, when the Babson-Rwanda Entrepreneurship Center served as the host organization for the country’s inaugural Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) campaign. The partnership reflected a growing commitment among Rwandan ecosystem leaders to position entrepreneurship as a pathway to sustained economic development, seeding a community that has expanded steadily over the years. 

In 2016, GEN partnered with Meridian International to bring the WiSci STEAM Camp to Rwanda – an immersive program focused on science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics that engaged young women from across the region. That same year, the Center for Entrepreneurship Rwanda stepped into the role of national GEW host, a position it also held in 2019, while idea4africa led the 2017 and 2018 campaigns. In 2022, JASIRI took the lead on GEW, continuing a pattern of locally-led campaigns that reflect the breadth of Rwanda’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. 

GEW Rwanda has consistently centered young entrepreneurs and women founders, with themes such as “Womenpreneurs” anchoring entire campaign weeks. Campaign speakers and partners – including the Imbuto Foundation and university-based ecosystem leaders – have used the week to challenge higher education institutions to modernize how entrepreneurship is taught, and to urge graduates to see themselves as “future startups” rather than future job seekers. Long-time GEW leader Aline Kabanda has been among those helping to shape this vision year after year. 

Rwandan policymakers have also engaged with GEN’s work. In 2018, Annette Karenzi of Rwanda’s Ministry of Trade, Industry & East African Affairs participated in GEN’s Startup Nations community, connecting Rwandan officials to a global network of government leaders working on entrepreneurship policy reforms. Rwanda was subsequently referenced among the countries welcoming new members to the Startup Nations community in 2023. 

Rwandan founders have been active participants in GEN’s global startup programs. In 2018, a Rwandan startup was selected as a finalist in the GIST Tech-I pitch competition at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress – a science and technology competition run in partnership with the U.S. Department of State. More recently, one Rwandan startup has made its way to the finals of the Entrepreneurship World Cup (EWC) organized by GEN where it had access to free training resources, mentorship and exposure to potential investors. MPost – a digital addressing platform that transforms mobile phone numbers into formal, virtual postal addresses to enable efficient mail delivery, e-commerce logistics, and identity verification across Africa – reached the EWC 100 in 2025 and pitched for a share of $1 million at the EWC Global Finals. 

GEN maintains relationships with key Rwandan ecosystem stakeholders, including the Ministry of Trade, Industry & East African Affairs, JASIRI, the Center for Entrepreneurship Rwanda, the Babson-Rwanda Entrepreneurship Center, the Imbuto Foundation, and idea4africa. 

Through GEW campaigns, youth- and women-focused initiatives, policy engagement via the Startup Nations community, and continued support for Rwandan startups on the global stage, GEN’s ongoing mission in Rwanda is to connect its growing ecosystem to leading-edge research, innovative programs, and communities of seasoned experts around the world.