Founded by 4 young Rwandans, interested in bringing reliable information to adolescents and youths, regarding their sexual and reproductive health, the startup Urukundo Initiative existed since 2019. It offers through its board game ”Urukundo” a user-friendly, safe and reliable platform that provides access to factual information on sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Please introduce yourself

My name is GIRANEZA UWANTEGE Christelle. I’m the co-founder and marketing director publics relations officer at Urukundo Initiative. 

What is the story behind your startup?  

The origin and inspiration arose from the research we conducted in different schools in Huye District – Rwanda that served to understand the root cause of surge in number of teenage pregnancy among adolescent together with students from Jefferson University, where 81.7% was found to have information gap around Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights. 

Later on, we developed URUKUNDO Life Skills Board Game, a friendly, trustworthy, evidence based and inclusive game that avails sexual and reproductive health information with the focus of upbringing a healthy thriving generation free from teenage pregnancies, unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS. 

The affection which adolescents misunderstand thus engage in risky sexual practices, the love that parents have for their children and the love we have for young adolescents and their families gave us an inspiration name ‘’URUKUNDO’’ which means “LOVE” in Kinyarwanda.

Who are your target customers ?

We target adolescents and teenagers aged 13-19 years of age living in Rwanda and sub-Saharan Africa.

What problem are you solving?

According to WHO about 17 million adolescent girls give birth every year and most of these births occur in low- and middle-income countries. As per Rwanda Demographic Health Survey, teenage pregnancy rate increased from 4.1% in 2005 to 6.1% in 2010, 7.3% in 2015 and about 5% in 2020.

Currently 1 in 5 Rwandan adolescent girls start child bearing before their 19^th birthday. These numbers are projected to be worsened by COVID19 pandemic. Young people in Rwanda report an information gap around Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) up to 81.7% evidenced by our grass root research.

With the use of gamification (ULSBG), we are providing Sexual Reproductive Health information, in a friendly, evidence based yet inclusive way thus tackling problems that arise from engaging in risky sexual behaviors including but not limited to teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDs.

What are your challenges?

 COVID-19 Pandemic affected our enterprise in various way. First in line of complying with government measure to prevent the spread of infection we were unable to forge many partnerships with various organizations in order to extend our market. Developing URUKUNDO Life Skills Board Game Application has been a challenge due to lack of game developer in the Team and insufficient funds. Being students have limited our full time樂威壯 participation in the company.

What is your vision for your startup? What does success look like?

Our vision is to become on the leading global providers of innovative health related solutions, we always strive to work hard in order to reach where we want to get. Our success is to live our dream where URUKUNDO Initiative will be one of health related innovative company addressing various global challenges.

Have you met someone who inspires you since participating in NHA?

The person who inspired us the most during the program was Senam Beheton.

If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?

It is injustice, we want to live in world where everyone should have equal right and opportunity.

 

ApiAfrique is a Senegalese social enterprise that promotes innovative, local and environmentally friendly solutions for women and baby care. Founded by Marina and Abdoulaye Gning, the startup began operations in 2016 in Senegal. It contributes through its products, to the emancipation of women, the reduction of waste, the fight against exclusion and the creation of jobs.

In this interview, Marina Gning, co-founder of ApiAfrique tells us about the startup and its participation in the NHA program.

Please introduce yourself

My name is Marina Gning, co-founder of the social enterprise Apiafrique. I worked for 10 years in film production and then founded my first company in 2010 called ApiNapi; a specialist in cloth diapers and reusable hygiene products in general.

What is the story behind ApiAfrique?

When i was developing my first company Apinapi in France, we bought the products all over the world and sold them with the advice of the customers. My husband Abdoulaye being Senegalese, we often went to Senegal on vacation. It was during one of these trips that we offered cloth diapers to my sister-in-law who had just given birth. She was immediately intrigued: she was indepeda必利勁 nt and the diapers were beautiful. We thought about importing some brands, but the price would have been too high and some models were not adaptive.

After thinking about it, we finally decided to create a special diaper and manufacture it in Senegal to create local jobs. An idea we started working on by following the online MOOC “becoming an entrepreneur of change”.

Then, when talking with some women we discovered that there was also a great interest in washable menstrual pads. So we took that into consideration and today it is our flagship product.

Who are your target customers, and what problem are you solving?

Our clients are principally women, young girls, retailers and NGOs.

The problems we try to solve are of several kinds and are related to the management of menstruation and baby changing. We also address the health problems related to the chemicals that are in the composition of disposable pads, the high cost of disposable pads and diapers, the economic dependence of women and young girls for their purchase and the waste generated.

What are your challenges?

Our major challenges today are: the supply of raw materials, large-scale distribution in Senegal and human resources.

What is your vision for your startup? What does success look like?

Our vision is a world where every person uses a majority of reusable and healthy products in their daily lives.

Success will be achieved for us when our products are widely available in West Africa and used by at least 50% of girls and women. 

Why did you apply for NHA? Why NHA and not another accelerator?

We were introduced to the NHA program last year at the menstrual poverty event organized by Intrepid Entrepreneurs. We met a very knowledgeable team about menstrual poverty and the market for reusable sanitary pads because they had already worked withcompanies in this sector in Africa and ordered a research paper from Noru Capital. As a result, they published the first market research on reusable sanitary pads in Africa.We told ourselves  ‘’Great! Here is finally a team that knows our products, reusable sanitary pads, and the African market and wants to help impact companies to evolve’’. So for us, it was perfect.

What were your expectations, and how was your experience with the program so far?

Our expectations from the NHA program were mainly related to the scale change. Today, after five years of activity, we have benefited from several programs that have helped us move forward, but we are at a crossroads. We have a team of about thirty people, and to go much further, we needed high-level help. Today we need bespoke advice and experts who can work with us on each of our problems. This is what we expected from NHA and what we have today. Fully customized support with much professionalism and a lot ofgoodwill.

Have you met someone who inspires you since participating in NHA?

Each member of the NHA team brings something to the table and each one inspires us in their own way. The team is efficient and caring, and everyone is a real pleasure to work with.

What significant progress have you made in your business since joining NHA?

Since we joined NHA, our product distribution strategy has become increasingly clear and we have tools to help us make decisions.

If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?

I would like every girl and woman to understand her menstrual cycle and to be able to thrive and no longer allow non-recyclable waste.

Do you have any last comment or advice you would like to share with your fellow entrepreneurs?

The advice I would give to entrepreneurs is don’t be alone. I always say that. If you think you have your idea, you want to keep it to yourself and move forward, but you can reach your limits quickly if you go through it alone, which gets tiring. So, surround yourself with other entrepreneurs, get help, get coaching, and don’t hesitate to participate in incubation and acceleration programs because that’s the key.

When I say that you shouldn’t stay alone and get help and support, it also means that you should share with others. When you’re an entrepreneur, you can’t just take, you have to share with other entrepreneurs, and it’s okay to say that you have problems or to show and explain your issues to others. That’s how you move forward. So also share your findings from your concerns; you will receive a lot in return, and that’s how you will grow.

Intrepid Entrepreneurs is pleased to announce eight innovative startups selected to participate in the latest cohort of the Next Health Accelerator. All these startups are female/co-led, except for one. This cohort includes 21 entrepreneurs representing six countries (Benin, Côte D’Ivoire, Ghana, Rwanda, Senegal, and Togo). Together, they are united in their missions to improve sexual and reproductive health on the continent.   

Next Health Accelerator is a six-month-long program designed to catalyze startups for investor readiness and value chain access. Our focus on sexual and reproductive health and self-care is founded on the premise that the unmet need for sexual education, menstrual hygiene management, family planning, medication abortion, and STI diagnosis and treatment will be most sustainable when delivered by local African businesses. While participating in the accelerator, startups receive access to a streamlined curriculum for startup growth designed by experts, bespoke executive coaching and mentorship, up to $20,000 capital investment, and access to an extensive network of partners. Upon graduation from the accelerator, startups remain part of the Intrepid Entrepreneurs alumni community.  

Here are the startups joining the 2022 Next Health Accelerator: 

• 犀利士 “https://afiapharma.com/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Afia Pharma (Rwanda) is a certified pharmaceutical e-commerce platform that allows patients to get medicine delivered to their homes at a lower cost with just a few clicks.   
• ApiAfrique (Senegal) manufactures sustainable, quality menstrual hygiene products that reduce waste, protect health, and foster women’s empowerment by ensuring safe and legal working conditions for the women who make them. 
• Bisa Health (Ghana) is a telemedicine phone app that provides customized medical advice and healthcare information to reduce cost, wait times, and stigma while ensuring access to care for all.  
• Maisoin (Côte D’Ivoire) connects patients to a network of qualified health professionals who provide online consults or home-based care with ease.  
• OPISMS (Côte D’Ivoire) is an online platform that tracks vaccination records and provides reminders for upcoming vaccinations to reduce preventable health incidents and protect women and children’s health. 
• PharMap (Benin) is a digital solution that helps people find pharmacies near them and the product they are looking for without wasting time.  
•  Reyha TV (Togo) is an online television platform that broadcasts talk shows to reduce stigma, raise awareness about sexual and reproductive health and domestic violence, and to create change in society. 
•  Urukundo Initiative has created an evidence-based health education board game to educate youth and stimulate conversations about sexual and reproductive health. 

Sexual and reproductive health issues directly affect the health of 300 million women and girls on the continent and indirectly impacts on education and economic productivity. The startups of the Next Health Accelerator will scale, enabling them to contribute to fulfilling these vast needs while normalizing and enhancing sexual and reproductive health across the continent. We look forward to sharing their progress on this journey.

For more information about the Next Health Accelerator, please visit https://www.intrepidentrepreneurs.org/program/. 

The Next Health Accelerator (NHA) by Intrepid Entrepreneurs recently completed recruitment for our next cohort of 10 African female/co-led startups innovating in the sexual and reproductive health sector. Applicants apply for Next Health Accelerator by completing an application in French or English and uploading a pitch deck and a 1-minute video from the Founder(s). Upon review by the NHA selection committee, shortlisted applicants are invited for a 30-minute virtual interview that involves a brief introductory presentation by the Founder followed by Q&A from a panel of judges. Based on this experience, we have 8 tips for successfully interviewing with an accelerator:

1- Highlight the eligibility criteria

Our eligibility criteria are stated on the application and on our website. African female/co-led startups with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) innovating in the sexual and reproductive health space as well as self-care solutions are eligible for NHA.” When interviewing, be clear about how your startup matches each element of these criteria. Eligibility is the most basic reason that startups are removed from consideration so ensure that each criterion glows from your startup. Know your audience and deliver accordingly. 

2- Include your entire team

The strength of your team is very appealing to accelerators, investors, donors, customers, and anyone else looking to partner with you. A strong team with healthy, equitable relationships where all members speak freely and with a shared vision is pure gold because it can make or break the success of a startup even more than the idea itself. A strong team is refreshing, exciting, and attractive so be sure to showcase it.

3- Lead with your WHY

The most successful entrepreneurs are ones who have a clear sense of purpose. They understand the problem they are trying to solve and they never forget why they care about it. As tempting as it can be to focus only on your solution, instead try to lead with your WHY and stay connected to your problem – both in the interview process and as you move forward.

4- Keep answers concise威而鋼 trong>

Answer each question as succinctly as possible so that we can move on to the next reviewers’ questions. Our review panel is made up of 6 diverse experts. They each are assessing applicants from different angles and want to learn as much as possible about your startup in a finite period. If it takes more than 2 minutes to answer any single question you have likely lost some (or all) of your audience in this specific arena.

5- Know your numbers

What metrics are you tracking and how are you performing on those? How many clients have you treated? Have you signed up an increasing numbers of customers each month for the last three months? Is your income increasing month on month? Do you have repeat customers, how many? Have a clear understanding of your data and the difference between input, output, and outcome metrics so that you can show progress at as many stages as possible.

6- Know your competition

If you don’t know your competition you probably don’t know your sector. It is a huge red flag for the judging panel if you don’t know or deny your competition. Be informed and confident in presenting your competition and always explain what your sustainable competitive advantage is relative to your competition.

7- Have a growth mindset

The number one rule of entrepreneurship is to be in love with the problem you are trying to solve, not your solution. Entrepreneurship is a series of tests: Does my solution solve the problem? Is my target market interested in using my solution? Is the price point too high or too low? Every time you launch a new feature or expand to a new market, you are putting your startup out into the world and you have to be open to receiving feedback that the world is giving back. Stay open enough to absorb these learnings and humble enough to pivot your solution accordingly.

8- Be presentable 

Before our world was hyper-virtual, we used to say, “dress for the part you want.” Now “dressing” for the part means ensuring you are on time, you have a good Wi-Fi connection, your camera is on, you are well lit, and you are in a quiet environment so your voice can be heard. These factors indirectly tell the judging panel how seriously you are taking the process which can be reflected in how seriously they think you will take your participation in the Accelerator.

We share these tips to even the playing field amongst those that have had access to more training versus those that have not and to elevate the overall standard of entrepreneurship. We hope you find them useful and can apply them in your next interview. If you would like to reach out to us and let us know your thoughts on our tips or additions to our list, we’d love to hear from you.

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Intrepid Entrepreneurs exists to catalyze the power and promise of women and youth to fundamentally advance their societies. You can learn more on our website.

Next Health Accelerator is a revolutionary bilingual, pan-African health accelerator for female and co-led startups innovating in the sexual and reproductive health sector.

Author : Lindsey SIMMONDS

Credit photo: Freepik (www.freepik.com)