Rwanda : Tigo introduces social entrepreneurship initiative

Telecommunication Company Tigo Rwanda has launched a social entrepreneurship initiative dubbed ‘Tigo Reach for change’ initiative to help local social entrepreneurs develop their ideas into viable projects to help improve lives of Rwandan youth and children.
This initiative by Tigo in partnership with Reach for Change, a non-profit organization, will see two winning entrepreneurs receive a gross annual salary of USD25, 000 (approximately Rwf15 million) for a period of three years.

It is expected that at the end of three years the entrepreneur will have been able to develop their business idea to sustainability.

According to Tigo Rwanda CEO Diego Camberros , most often people have good business ideas that can impact on others’ lives but don’t have the required resources and support to develop them.

“This is what we are seeking to address. We shall give them a salary that can sustain them while they concentrate at developing their business idea into viable projects,” he said.

During the three year period that the social entrepreneur will be receiving the Tigo salary, their business idea will be undergoing scrutiny, evaluation and incubation in order to ensure that they attain required standards.

Throughout the incubation period, the entrepreneur will be a Tigo employee who receives a salary to ensure that he or she concentrates on starting his business project.

Camberro believes that a single person who is supported and facilitated by his or her community would make an impact on the entire society.

Rwanda becomes the first African country to launch this initiative in places where Tigo operates. The head of corporate Social responsibility activities for all Tigo operations Nina-Claudia Ndabaneza says that it is due to good business climate that Rwanda offers and the structure of the Rwandan society.

“Rwanda is very conducive to business and we believe that this inventiveness will bring the best results,” said Ndabaneza at the launch in Kigali

The Tigo Reach for Change initiative is now open to the public to hand in their applications. Applicants can take their applications to Tigo Service Centres or through the Tigo website www.tigo.co.rw.