PesaChoice and Viebeg, two Rwandan tech firms, have received undisclosed seed funding from the Norrsken Foundation in Kigali.
Niklas Adalberth launched the Norrsken Foundation in 2016 with the goal of assisting founders in addressing the world’s most pressing issues. The firm’s Norrsken House co-working space in Kigali is set to debut in less than a month.
PesaChoice is a financial technology firm that helps consumers with limited access to institutional credit bridge the gap between their paychecks and unforeseen costs. Users can apply for micro-loans at a fixed interest rate quickly and easily, removing the need for predatory lenders, mounds of paperwork, and long wait times to acquire funds.
Meanwhile, Viebeg is an e-health company developing a procurement platform to ensure that healthcare institutions always have the proper sort and quantity of product in stock to treat patients. Over 230 hospitals in Rwanda, Burundi, and Congo utilize its software, which helps them acquire supplies more efficiently and saves them up to 40% on costs.
“Norrsken’s funding will enable our company to develop predictive analytics models that will improve health care in the region by utilizing local expertise,” says the company. Tobias Reiter, CEO and founder of Viebeg Technologies, said, “We are pleased to be a part of Kigali’s fast-growing, dynamic innovation sector, which Norrsken is developing.”
“At PesaChoice, our mission is to make a difference by facilitating access to financing.” Davis Davis Nteziryayo, CEO and co-founder of PesaChoice, said, “We are happy to be part of the Norrsken family because of our shared vision for Kigali’s future as a startup hub.”
“We are dedicated to creating a healthy environment for East African companies, with Norrsken House in Kigali serving as the epicenter,” says the company. This promise includes these investments. “We believe Kigali has a bright future as one of Africa’s premier entrepreneurial hotspots, and we want to help expedite that journey,” Pascal Murasira, managing director of Norrsken East Africa, said.
