RWANDA – Carnegie Mellon University–Africa in Kigali, Rwanda, the only American campus on the entire continent, together with the Rwandan government and the MasterCard Foundation have announced a “transformational” US$275.7 million investment in the institution, and higher education development across Africa.

According to a statement from the university, US$175 million of the foundation’s investment will go to expanding engineering and technology education programs at the Kigali campus and to funding the institution in perpetuity, in part by establishing over 300 scholarships and aiming to grow the university’s annual enrolment by more than a third.

The other US$100 million will be used to establish the Center for the Inclusive Digital Transformation of Africa, a hub for a network of at African universities across the continent that will receive funding for faculty development, cutting-edge technology and engineering programs, and other initiatives.

The MasterCard Foundation, whose work is focused on empowering youth in Africa and Canada’s Indigenous populations, began funding scholarships for CMU-Africa in 2016 and has been involved with the institution ever since.

In March, the university received the last instalment of a 10-year, US$95 million deal with the government, which, until now, had been largely responsible for funding the college.

CMU-Africa director Allen Robinson said the MasterCard Foundation’s investment will help sustain the program well into the future, ease the funding burden from Rwanda’s government and allow CMU-Africa to transition to need-blind admissions.

“Our mission is to be as inclusive as possible,” Robinson said. “The Rwandan government has gotten us this far, but this partnership is crucial to letting us grow and continue our work.”

CMU-Africa was established as CMU-Rwanda in 2011 as a partnership between the Rwandan government and the Pittsburgh-based university renowned for its engineering and technology programs.

Rwandese startup selected for Google funding initiative

Six Rwanda startup companies have been selected to receive US$100,000 as part of the Google funding initiative for African tech companies. They include BAG Innovation, Bailport, Exuus, Kapsule, Pesa Choice, and Pindo.

Some 60 selected African startups will receive US$100,000 in non-dilutive cash awards, paired with up to US$200,000 in Google Cloud credits per startup, according to a Google statement.

Non-dilutive funding refers to any capital a business owner receives that doesn’t require them to give up equity or ownership.

The startups will also receive hands-on business and technical mentorship from Google’s network of mentors and facilitators, learning the best practices on a range of topics from artificial intelligence, organisational culture, and people management to growth strategies, among others.

The initiative, Google for Startups Black Founders Fund in Africa, started in 2021 with the first cohort of 50 startups from nine African countries that have raised more than US$87 million and created 518 jobs.

This is the second cohort of 60 members with 50 per cent women-founded startups, and are set to benefit from a total of US$4 billion worth of funds.

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