We were proud to host the GSMA Innovation Fund Start-up Bootcamp, which took place on 22-24 October 2022 in Kigali, Rwanda.

It was an exclusive event hosted across 3 days, ahead of MWC Africa, which brought together 27 start-ups from our GSMA Innovation Fund portfolio, 18 stakeholders (investors and mobile operators) and our donors. Find out how the GSMA Innovation Fund supports them, how mobile technology can help them reach scale, and what they have learnt from participating in the Bootcamp:

Summary of the event

On Sunday 23 October, we hosted a series of workshops focused on inclusion, innovation and scale. These sessions looked at the support provided by the GSMA Innovation Fund beyond grant funding: technical assistance, mentoring, building partnerships with MNOs, engagement with investors, networking facilitation, and increasing the profiles of our portfolio start-ups.

On Monday 24 October, the start-ups took part in direct 1:1 matching with relevant stakeholders and other networking sessions, which brought together start-ups, MNOs, donors, investors, policymakers, and other stakeholders within the innovation ecosystem. The objective was to showcase the GSMA Innovation Fund start-up portfolio to multiple stakeholders and engage in conversations with the aim of building strategic partnerships with public and private sector players.

The GSMA Innovation Fund is currently funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and supported by the GSMA and its members.