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Email info@alternatives.world
1000 Alternatives > #ImpactReimagined
Overview
The prizes
Submit your venture!
Qualified submissions
Background

1000 Alternatives (Rwanda) believes that businesses can be a force for good.

In 2018, 1000 Alternatives (in partnership with the Swahili Pot Hub and 1M Startups) mooted and sponsored the #PIWPitch 2018 Venture Competition at the Pwani Innovation Week 2018 held at Mombasa, Kenya. This year, 1000 Alternatives (Rwanda) is running #ImpactReimagined 2019 (Kigali) together with like-minded partners in Rwanda.

#ImpactReimagined 2019 (Kigali) is seeking submissions from teams of innovators in Kigali who create profit-driven, impact-sustaining ventures. The ventures proposed must use cutting-edge ICT technologies to create and deliver impact within the city limits of Kigali in the following areas:

  • Better education.
  • Better health.
  • Better agribusiness.
  • Better access to markets for goods and services made in Rwanda.
  • Better technology for housing.
  • Better technology for city-living in Rwanda.

A panel of judges will select 16 teams from all submissions to qualify for a multi-stage competition where they will have access to tools, resources, mentors and advisors that help to finesse their profit and impact models and to pitch the same to access opportunities and prizes:

  • All selected 16 ventures will benefit from an incubation programme.
  • All 16 ventures will be enrolled into the 1000 Alternatives’ Companies List to access opportunities for funding and investments.
  • Only the top 3 ventures that win this competition will be awarded cash prizes and access short-term and long-term capital investments in return for equity as well as access technology licensing and business partnerships where possible.
Key dates

15th December 2019 to 28th of February 2020 (Submissions closed):

  • Submission of the signed Rules and Eligibility Document.
  • Submission of the PowerPoint slide deck with the details of your venture/idea.
  • Submissions can made in either English or Kinyarwanda.

29th February to end of March 2020 (Ongoing):

  • Selection of the top 16 ventures by a panel of judges.
  • Announcing of the final list of 16 ventures to go ahead.

1st of April to 15th of April 2020 :

  • Providing of support to these 16 ventures on finessing their impact and business models.
  • Undertaking of three demos and pitches for each venture to compete for points.
  • Total points earned at the end of the competition will determine the final ranking.

On 15th April 2020:

  • Announcement and awarding of the top 3 winners and their inclusion in the 1000 Alternatives’ Companies List.
  • The start of the incubation programme for all the 16 ventures, access to financing t the top 3 ventures (where applicable) and matchmaking missions for the top 3 ventures (where possible).
Eligible teams

For a team to be eligible to compete, the following rules apply:

  • Each team must have a minimum of 2 people and a maximum of 4 people.
  • At least 2 team members must be citizens of the Republic of Rwanda.
  • At least 1 team member must be female.
  • All members of the team must be signed-up to the 1000 Alternatives Facebook Page.
  • One person can only be a member of one team and each team can submit more than one venture.
  • A complete submission will consist of a copy of the signed Rules and Regulations Checklist and a PowerPoint slide deck as per the provided Slide Deck Template for each venture submitted.
  • The submissions will be uploaded on or before 11:59 PM Rwanda Time on the 28th of February 2020.
  • Team members are responsible to work out amongst themselves any agreements, ownership rights and engagements before, during and after the competition.
  • Team members can be changed only up until the submission deadline.

Winning prizes

The judges will determine the ranking of all ventures using a combination of raw scores from the three Facebook Live! pitches and demos, rankings and any other means that they deem appropriate at the time. Feedback from the judges will be given to the teams at each stage of the competition. Such feedback may or may not fully represent all factors considered by the judging panel when determining the winners of any prize.

The cash and in-kind prizes below are offered in return for negotiated equity in the company as applicable. 

First place: RWF 2,000,000.00 in cash prizes

  • + inclusion on the 1000 Alternatives’ Companies List to attract funding and investments.
  • + foreign missions and trips to access technology licensing and/or other business-to-business partnerships with like-minded companies.
  • + inclusion in the incubation and acceleration programme run by 1000 Alternatives and its partners.
  • + Bespoke introduction and access to leading investors in your choice of Israel, Finland, Sweden and South East Asia. The offer is open to the winning team collectively.
  • + 120 days development support from 1000 Alternatives Nairobi and partners.
  • + Free incorporation, Free Business Setup Support and Free Corporate secretary services (applies for simple structures, that have up to 5 individual directors/shareholders) for the first year of services.

Second place: RWF 1,500,000.00 in cash prizes

  • + inclusion on the 1000 Alternatives’ Companies List to attract funding and investments.
  • + foreign missions and trips to access technology licensing and/or other business-to-business partnerships with like-minded companies.
  • + inclusion in the incubation and acceleration programme run by 1000 Alternatives and its partners.
  • + Bespoke introduction and access to leading investors in your choice of Israel, Finland, Sweden and South East Asia. The offer is open to the winning team collectively.
  • + 120 days development support from 1000 Alternatives Nairobi and partners.
  • + Free incorporation, Free Business Setup Support and Free Corporate secretary services (applies for simple structures, that have up to 5 individual directors/shareholders) for the first year of services.

Third place: RWF 1,000,000.00 in cash prizes

  • + inclusion on the 1000 Alternatives’ Companies List to attract funding and investments.
  • + foreign missions and trips to access technology licensing and/or other business-to-business partnerships with like-minded companies.
  • + inclusion in the incubation and acceleration programme run by 1000 Alternatives and its partners.
  • + Bespoke introduction and access to leading investors in your choice of Israel, Finland, Sweden and South East Asia. The offer is open to the winning team collectively.
  • + 120 days development support from 1000 Alternatives Nairobi and partners.
  • + Free incorporation, Free Business Setup Support and Free Corporate secretary services (applies for simple structures, that have up to 5 individual directors/shareholders) for the first year of services.

All other participants: No cash prizes

  • + inclusion on the 1000 Alternatives’ Companies List to attract funding and investments.
  • + inclusion in the incubation and acceleration programme run by 1000 Alternatives and its partners.
  • + 120 days development support from 1000 Alternatives Nairobi and partners.

Where do these prizes come from?

  • The operational costs and prizes above are provided by the co-founders of 1000 Alternatives (Rwanda) from own funds.
  • The co-foudners are also fund-raising from partners who have as their mission is to help build great entrepreneurial leaders and successful ventures .
  • All funds raised will be applied towards prizes with a small percentage applied towards supporting operational costs.
  • 1000 Alternatives (Rwanda) will share a full accounting of the use of any funds raised on this space at the end of the competition.
  • More prizes may be included and the above prizes may be reviewed upwards as more funds and in-kind contributions become available through partners.

 

Preparing your submission
  1. Download and complete the Rules and Eligibility Checklist
  2. Download and complete the following slide deck with details of your venture(s) making sure that all slides are completed :  Slide Deck Template 
  3. OPTIONAL: Create a 2-minute pitch story and video using instructions freely available on the internet. The following instructions available and developed by Technovation are also helpful: Pitch Story and Video Instructions

Note: You can download additional PowerPoint slide resources to use in your slide deck from this location: Additional PowerPoint Slide Resources

Making your submission
  • Ensure all your team members have “liked” the 1000 Alternatives Facebook Page
  • Email your completed Rules and Eligibility Checklist (from step 1 above), your completed slide deck (from step 2 above) and the link for your uploaded pitch story video (if you have created a video) to the following email address: impact.reimagined@alternatives.world
Further information

For assistance and help in making your submission, please reach out to us at the following contact details. Kindly note that any form of canvassing is grounds for automatic disqualification from this competition.

Email: impact.reimagined@alternatives.world
Mobile: +250 788 487 762 
Join the #ImpactReimagined 2019 group through the following link: https://chat.whatsapp.com/DlBJEBl8AxtFYb2I62jIg9

 

 

Summary

The request for proposals was left open from the 15th of December 2019 to the 28th of February 2020 as per plan. A total of 28 submissions were received, but only 23 of the submissions passed the stage of long listing.

The criteria applied for the long list was simply: did the submission have all the required documentation as per the submission instructions and was the submission made on or before 11:59 PM on the 28th of February?

The long list was shared on the WhatsApp group, on the 1000 Alternatives Facebook page and is repeated on this web page below.

The next step will be the appointment of judges (5 in number) to vet the long list into the final list of 16 ventures to participate in the mentorship/incubation and to compete for points in the three rounds of demos and pitches to follow leading to the award of the various prizes at the end of April.

Long list
No Date and Time Submitted Title of Submission Rules and Regulations Submitted Slide Deck Submitted Language of submission Submission valid? Remarks for the disqualified submissions
1 28th February 4:51 PM Horana Ibyangombwa Yes, complete document. Yes, complete document. Kinyarwanda. Yes  
2 29th February 12:12 AM Smart Business by Using Cashless Seller Website Yes, complete document. Yes, complete document. English. No. Submitted after deadline, check time.
3 24th February 08:44 AM Fruit and vegetableaggregating platform shops to enhance quality of wholesale price in Rwanda No document submitted. Yes, complete document. English. No Invalid documents
4 28th February 3:48 PM, 3:53 PM, 3:58 PM (3 emails) WOWE App Yes, complete document. Yes, complete document. English. Yes  
5 January 20, 6:14 AM No name, but project about cricket farming. No document provided. No document provided. English. No. Invalid documents
6 29th December, 4:01 PM No name and no text in the email. No document provided. No document provided. Unclear. No. Invalid documents
7 9th February, 12:09 AM Gutanga amahugurwa ku bantu bita ku bantu akuze Yes, complete document. Yes, complete document. Kinyarwanda. Yes  
8 13th February, 2:15 PM Umushinga w’ubuhinzi bw’ibihomyo (RYANEZA_MUSHROOMS) Yes, complete document. Yes, complete document. Kinyarwanda. Yes  
9 8th February, 3:40 PM No name, but project about robotics No document provided. No document provided. English. No. Invalid documents
10 28th February, 7:31 AM 4R Group Call Order System Yes, complete document. Yes, complete document. English. Yes  
11 28th February, 11:57 PM Ineza Bamboo Weaving Products LTd Yes, complete document. Yes, complete document. English. Yes  
12 15th January, 09:55 AM Agave Rwanda Yes, complete document. No document provided. English. Yes  
13 27th February, 1:45 PM Ibona Kids Yes, complete document. Yes, complete document. English. Yes  
14 28th February, 4:46 PM Super Card withdraw Money Yes, complete document. Yes, complete document. English. Yes  
15 January 20th, 09:37 PM Izi Park Yes, complete document. Yes, complete document. English. Yes  
16 28th February, 11:19 PM Smart menstrual tracking and mentoring system Yes, complete document. Yes, complete document. English. Yes  
17 27th February, 4:47 PM Modernizing agriculture via Soils Detection Yes, complete document. Yes, complete document. English. Yes  
18 19th January, 12:04 PM Ibyangombwa Company Ltd Yes, complete document. Yes, complete document. English. Yes  
19 28th February, 10:24 PM Manzi La Fraternite Yes, complete document. Yes, complete document. English. Yes  
20 28th February, 11:28 PM International Farmers Forum Ltd Yes, complete document. Yes, complete document. English. Yes  
21 27th February, 7:19 PM Novus Digital Product Yes, complete document. Yes, complete document. English. Yes  
22 8th February, 11:57 PM SafeSana Ltd Yes, complete document. Yes, complete document. English. Yes  
23 6th February, 3:59 PM No name, but agriculture No document provided. Wrong document format. English. No. Invalid documents
24 27th February, 10:45 PM Soft Clinic Yes, complete document. Yes, complete document. English. Yes  
25 31 January, 12:31 AM SENEMS Yes, complete document. Yes, complete document. English. Yes  
26 9th February, 1:12 AM AquaSafi Ltd Yes, complete document. Yes, complete document. English. Yes  
27 8th February, 10:22 AM IoT Smart Parking Yes, complete document. Yes, complete document. English. Yes  
28 28th February, 6:23 PM Iterero Family Daily Care Yes, complete document. Yes, complete document. English. Yes  
Important note on Coronavirus

In line with the guidelines from the Ministry of Health for the Government of Republic of Rwanda on not having large gatherings, we are thinking of alternatives to the mentorship/incubation programme that required the competing teams to work together in one location at specified time periods.

Please join us at the following time and online meeting room to contribute to suggestions on how to move forward with that stage of the competition under the current constraints. Your participation and input in this meeting will be highly appreciated.

Date and time of the Zoom call: 23rd March 2020 at 17:30 hours Kigali time.
Meeting room (just click the link to load): https://www.zoom.us/j/2665549936 
Meeting room password: ZCKL8y