An interview with Katharina Hartwig of StArfrica

 

I met Katharina Hartwig through linkedin. What i was interested in is to find possible partners in a project that we might be doing in Rwanda. We had a need for local talent especially in Software Development and i thought that the group she works with would be a great place to find the young people with skills. 

From what i gathered having looked at her profile, she was in a unique position to help find and locate people with thw skills necessary for jobs in tech and other fields for the foreign market. 

When writing for this and other projects, i tried to pay special attention to the Technology and Innovation Ecosystems of several countries (the big four-Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt). To this we added Rwanda and Uganda by default because this is where we are currently headquartered. 

Rwanda was interesting because of the involvement of Norrsken and Impact Hub Kigali which we covered after a visit to Rwanda in early January. 

We see the rise of Rwanda in the the space as a significant marker in the development of tech in the region and ecosystems on the whole. What we see here is the creation of space for the biggest innovation hub on the continent and then using this to attract other important aspects of the ecosystem. The work of building therefore falls on the major space that you have provided and the Ecosystem builds itself outwards from one source. 

However in studying the ecosystem we also noticed an area where more attention needs to be paid and that is in the growth of the education space. This is where we feel Katharina Hartwig and her work comes in. Unless there is a deliberate effort to encourage and source talent for the ecosystem needs and to be able to direct that talent to the right employment partner we will miss a lot. 

So growth in the ecosystem is dependent on the size of the incubation center that is Norrsken but also on the creation of partnerships with groups that can source talent and connect nationally and internationally with important players in the industry. 

The Questions 

1. What is your name?

My name is Katharina Hartwig.

2. Where are you from?

I am originally from Braunschweig, Germany – but I moved to Rwanda two years ago and have been living and working here since then. Rwanda is not only my second home – it has truly become my first home now. I have come here regularly since 2016 and always knew I want to come back and live here. I am so grateful that this finally worked out when I found my job as the Project Lead Rwanda within the StArfrica project in 2020.

3. Where did you go to school?

I went to school in a small town in Northern Germany, in Wolfenbüttel. It is best known as the location of an internationally renowned Library as well as its renaissance castle and for having the largest concentration of timber-framed buildings in Germany. The castle was actually my high school for 7 years and I truly loved having classes in this super old and beautiful building.

4. Tell us a little about Your Home Country. What influence has it had in the person that you are today?

Germany is well known for many things, I would say mainly for its strong economy and many well-known and successful companies, such as Volkswagen, Merck, Siemens and also BionTech. Germany will always be my home country where my family and friends live – but at the same time, I also love my life in Rwanda. The weather, the people, the lifestyle, the landscape here is so different from Germany. People are very community focused, open, and they care very much about each other. Once I moved to my place in Kigali, my neighbors would always check in with me, care about the community. What I also love about Rwanda is the constant development that is happening and its vibrant entrepreneurship and startup scene. I truly wish more European and especially German companies would be aware of the great potential the Rwandan market has when it comes to starting a business / startup and that is also what we are focusing at in our StArfrica project.

5. Tell us more about Starfrica? And iinama?

The mission of StArfrica – Startup Germany-Africa – is to increase the attractiveness of Germany for African start-ups as well as to sensitize and facilitate the market entry of German start-ups and companies in Rwanda. In the past two years, we have already supported several German SMEs and startups in their market entry to Rwanda, coming from different sectors. Our project is implemented on a pilot basis in Rwanda and in cooperation with the University of Rwanda (UR) in Kigali. Our team is based at the Institute for Scientific Entrepreneurship at the University of Koblenz in Germany as well as on-site at the UR in Kigali.

With our 4-year project, the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action is promoting the idea of a foundation-related continental bridge between Germany and Africa with a focus on innovation and start-ups for the first time.