The Entreprenarium Foundation launches the first edition of its flagship programme WCR (Women Capital Raising) meant for 100 women entrepreneurs in Gabon, Rwanda, and Senegal. Entreprenarium also announces the funding of 30 projects with high growth potential in these three pilot countries.

Designed by the Entreprenarium Foundation, WCR is a 6 week programme to support women in their entrepreneurial journey. Its main objective is to equip women entrepreneurs with the necessary skills and resources to succeed in starting and operating a small or medium business. This first edition of the WCR launched on March 8 in the three pilot cities of the Entreprenarium Foundation Libreville, Kigali and Dakar, counts 100 participants with innovative projects to develop. The programme consists of course sessions and workshops focused primarily on the methodology of Lean Startup, innovation, as well as management and entrepreneurship skills. Through WCR, the Entreprenarium Foundation takes a practical approach in the training sessions, which allow participants to acquire solid knowledge of each of the proposed topics. The programme includes detailed and interactive exercises for participants to consolidate their newly acquired knowledge with practical know-how. 

The methodology taught allows entrepreneurs to quickly adjust the supply to the actual demand or to rotate if necessary to a different economic model dictated by the market. It has the advantage of minimizing the costs of setting production and reducing the risk of SMEs failure, it is therefore perfectly adapted to the African markets.

At the end of their training, the recipients should be able to:

• Clearly articulate their business model
• Release a minimum viable product or service to the market
• Assess the actual revenue generation capabilities of their business
• Develop and maintain real customers.

The Pan-African foundation dedicated to the promotion of entrepreneurship with offices in Libreville, Kigali and Dakar. The foundation was launched in July 2014 by Mrs Kristine Ngiriye, a Rwandan citizen, serial entrepreneur, who is committed to provide business support to women and young entrepreneurs on the African continent through concrete uplifting projects and linkages programmes. Indeed with a shared management center, trainings / workshops and consulting services, the Entreprenarium Foundation offers a full range of tailored services to support the creation of viable and innovative SMEs on the continent. Since its inception, the Entreprenarium Foundation has trained 700 young aspiring entrepreneurs and supported companies such as Shell, Total, Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations in the development and the monitoring evaluation of their programmes dedicated to entrepreneurship.