Follow our journey
I hope that in four years we will have achieved the indicators we have set. But I really do see it as a pilot project and would therefore like to see it extended to other African countries and that it somehow manages to create a cluster in Rwanda, on the one hand with this bridge character and the connection to Germany, on the other hand with the local economy…
I was involved from the beginning when we at ZIFET decided to develop activities in Rwanda. We chose Africa, an exciting and promising continent with great potential. There were already contacts to Rwanda through previous activities together with the Rwanda Center, so the choice of Rwanda as a partner country in the application was obvious. Establishing “Business Start-Up from Science” at the University of Rwanda is a very exciting and challenging project for me, which I am happy to accompany with my experience…
On October 5, an interview with Harald von Korflesch was published on the blog of the Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of Economics, drawing attention to the “StAfrica – Startup Germany-Africa” project. We hope to get in contact with other entrepreneurs interested in founding a company in Rwanda or to inspire some of them for the African country. The article is called “Rwanda and Rhineland-Palatinate: a new level of cooperation” and can be read under the following link (interview in German and English)…
“The internationalization of our activities was and is the logical next step. The focus on Africa of our project is linked to the “Marshall Plan with Africa” of the BMZ and the “Pro! Africa Initiative” of the BMWi. Rwanda, as the partner country of Rhineland-Palatinate, is a very suitable partner for this, because this country is very successful in innovation and entrepreneurship and the University of Rwanda as our concrete local partner opens up a high potential for this…”
“I had the opportunity to help develop the pilot project from the beginning. At that time, we wanted to apply for the project pillar “Internationalization” of EXIST-Potentials and there we took our first look at Africa. Since the University of Koblenz has had connections to Rwanda for a long time and Africa has an incredibly large economic potential, I find it very exciting to be part of this journey.…”
“I have been involved since August 15 and my task is to highlight Germany as a location for start-ups and make it more attractive for Rwandan start-ups, but also to bring German companies to Rwanda and to fight against the stereotype that not only Rwanda but the entire African continent has. The aim is to create a resilient network and, in cooperation with the University of Rwanda and the University of Koblenz-Landau, to establish an incubator on site in Kigali…”
“Through my personal experiences I was able to get to know Rwanda as a highly interesting country. I find the starting point of the project particularly exciting, which provides for an exchange and cooperation at eye level. This is precisely where I see a great strength of the project, which thus also departs from the classic idea of development aid and strengthens the economic conditions, starting from the university. This also includes the exchange and sensitization of Rwandan start-up teams from the academic world to start up in Germany and for German start-ups and medium-sized companies to establish their ideas in Rwanda or in other African countries. In general, I am also looking forward to implement new ideas and support founders in their development with our motivated StArfrica team…”
The first virtual kick-off event for StArfrica took place on June 10, where Prof. Dr. Korflesch presented the project and its goals. The four-year pilot project started on May 1 and is funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy…
