The Rwanda Digital Acceleration Project (RDAP), under subcomponent 3.1 regional digital entrepreneurship hub has designed an Early Stage Financing Facility to support  startups  at various stages of the venture funding/investment cycle on behalf of the Government of Rwanda. The available funding will be distributed to target high-growth  innovation-driven startups through a Direct-to-Startup Grant window called Hanga Venture Ignite, integrated as a subset of the Hanga Pitch Fest platform, that will disburse grants directly to very early-stage startups in two tiers.

Hanga Venture Ignite aims to provide essential financial support to early-stage Rwandan startups, enabling them to overcome initial capital constraints and kickstart their operations. By targeting startups at the ideation or MVP stage, the window seeks to foster innovation and entrepreneurship. This will facilitate the startups in attracting further investment, accelerating their growth and contributing to the economic development of Rwanda.

The expected long-term outcomes are as follows:
•    Increased number of high-growth innovation-driven startups operating in Rwanda. .
•    Increased number of available digitally enabled solutions in Rwanda.

For more information, please visit: www.hangapitchfest.rw