Smart Cities Innovation Programme

Smart Cities Innovation Programme The Smart Cities Innovation Programme (SCIP) is a programme that focuses on the development of solutions for the areas of smart housing, smart mobility, and fintech for the affordability of smart cities with the aim of strengthening local innovation in smart cities and communities and to network these innovations with international business partners.    The programme has a pan-African orientation, with a strong base in Rwanda. This increases the chances of receiving high-quality start-ups, whilst strengthening Rwanda as a hub and home for businesses.   Therefore – adopting a long-term approach – the core objective of this measure is to foster local, scalable innovations that will ultimately generate jobs in Rwanda and beyond.   Features   Impact/Result So Far   31 smart city innovators from across Africa were selected for the programme, culled from over 300 applications.  54 participants from the 31 targeted startups were trained in a 5-day virtual bootcamp by 10 experienced experts with the participation of 4 partner organisations (AWS, Siemens, Angaza Capital and Finca Ventures).  31 startups matched with seasoned mentors from within the AfriLabs network and other partner organisations.  Learn more.  

AfriLabs Capacity Building Programme (ACBP)

AfriLabs Capacity Building Programme (ACBP)   AfriLabs Capacity Building Programme (ACBP), A 2m euro, 36-month intensive capacity building programme, is being implemented thanks to Agence Française de Développement (AFD)’s support through the Digital Africa seed fund.   The programme aims to strengthen hubs so that they can attract investments and run local and regional impact-driven programs that will support entrepreneurs and startups and contribute to growing the African innovation ecosystem.   Features   Impact/Result So Far 3,029 of Hub managers and staff trained in the past year on relevant topics ranging from financial management, effective mentoring, preparing their startups to be investment ready and other topics relevant to building successful startups   304 Startups supported through business development trainings, funding, mentoring, digital profiling and other capacity-building activities. Over 200 of them are female-led startups.   4,287 Participants trained, 62.5% being female participants trained and supported through the Virtual Meetup grants activities. 21 out of 29 Hubs that participated in the Capacity Building Awards Programme attracted additional funding.   Learn more.