Millicom Launches “Think” Incubator For Rwanda Techpreneurs

As private equity firms scramble to invest in emerging African tech markets, Sweden-based telecommunications and Media Company, Millicom has created “think”, a technology incubator that will help develop new digital solutions in Rwanda's capital, Kigali.

While “Think” will help develop innovative and scalable businesses, Millicom, which hope to gain an equity stake from businesses developed at the incubator will provide budding Rwandan entrepreneurs that emerge from the incubator with seed funding, structured training and coaching programmes. It will also provide them with access to Tigo technical resources for product testing and trials and support in accessing outside investors and customers.

The entrepreneurs will be carefully chosen from a selectively small group through a highly competitive selection process that will be announced by the Tigo operation soon. Tigo is a subsidiary of Millicom which also owns one third of Africa Internet Holdings that control some internet startup companies across the continent.

Rwanda’s Minister for ICT,Hans-Holger Albrecht said with extraordinary local talent whose skills and ingenuity that needs support, the telecommunication company will  to help drive digital revolution with talented youth in all its Tigo operations in Africa.

Rwanda, East Africa’s second largest economy have been home to laudable investments in recent time as investment prospect in the country continue to improve considerably. 

According to the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business in Africa list, Rwanda ranks 58 out of 183 countries examined globally while the rate of poverty has dropped to 44.9percents as at 2011 from 56.7 percent recorded five years earlier. 

With an active presence across more than 15 countries globally, Millicom through its Tigo operations which has over 50-million customers also launched the world's first cross-border mobile money transfer service with integrated currency conversion in Rwanda few months ago.

The service which is wi-fi enabled with mobile payments support operates on local bus services in Kigali.