Abayomi Semudara and Abisinuola Adedeji are thrilled to announce the successful launch of Baraza in Kigali, marking the inaugural event of a bold and new global movement dedicated to building an intentional community for founders worldwide.

As an official pre-mixer for Norrsken Africa Week, the event created a vibrant gathering space that brought together founders, investors, ecosystem players, and innovation leaders from across Africa and beyond.

A New Global Community for Founders

Baraza represents a bold vision to create meaningful connections and foster collaboration among entrepreneurs across borders and continents. Through a series of localized events in major cities and countries around the world, Baraza is building a vibrant, globally connected community where founders can learn, network, and grow together. By establishing the Baraza community in key startup ecosystems, the initiative aims to democratize access to knowledge, partnerships, and opportunities for entrepreneurs regardless of geography.

The Kigali gathering demonstrated the power of this vision, attracting ecosystem pioneers, investors, and visionary founders from over 7 countries who shared insights, exchanged ideas, and forged new connections that will shape the future of African entrepreneurship.

A Catalyst for Norrsken Africa Week

As the official pre-mixer for Norrsken Africa Week, Baraza Kigali set the perfect tone for a week dedicated to celebrating innovation and entrepreneurship across the continent. The event created an energetic, intimate setting where participants could establish relationships and build momentum ahead of the broader week of programming and festivities.

Powering the Event Forward

Baraza Kigali was powered by Five 23 and Pivot HQ, whose expertise and commitment to fostering entrepreneurial ecosystems were instrumental in bringing the vision to life. The event was further strengthened through partnerships with CcHUB Design Lab, Kigali, whose innovative space and design thinking ethos provided the perfect venue for collaboration, and Mark Renee LP, a law firm committed to providing legal aid and advisory to startups, whose support reinforced Baraza’s mission to build inclusive, forward-thinking communities.

Looking Ahead

With the successful launch of Baraza Kigali, organizers are energized to expand the initiative to additional cities and countries. The next phase of the global Baraza movement is already underway, with Baraza Lagos coming in December. The Lagos edition will continue to bring together founders and ecosystem players from across West Africa and beyond, maintaining the momentum and deepening the global community that Baraza is building. Future phases will continue to prioritize authentic connection, knowledge-sharing, and ecosystem-building as core pillars, ensuring that founders worldwide have access to the community, resources, and inspiration they need to build world-changing companies.

“Baraza Kigali exceeded our expectations,” the organizers said, “The energy, diversity of thought, and quality of connections demonstrated why this global community is so needed. We’re excited to carry this momentum forward and welcome even more founders into the Baraza movement as we expand across the world.”