Health for All in Rwanda
WAKA tackles Africa's fastest growing threat - non-communicable diseases (heart disease, diabetes) one facility at a time.
Project Description
Who We Are
WAKA started as a 500 sqm. fitness facility in Kigali, Rwanda in 2014 and grew over 300% to 1000 members by 2017. In 2018, WAKA launched Africa's first-ever combined gym, co-working, cafe and event space. Before opening, all private offices were 100% subscribed, and as of July 2019 the facility reached a total of 1000 members.
Problem/Soultion
Free Health for All
WAKA's new mobile application, Free Fitness, will allow for FREE access to health infrastructure for the millions of people in Sub-Saharan Africa struggling with health and lifestyle related diseases
Our Team
Jeannetta Craigwell-Graham, Founder, CEO
Jeannetta has over 10 years of experience developing and supporting start-ups and projects in Africa. She is an athlete and is passionate about improving the livelihoods of others.
Marcella Felde, Country Director
Marcella has lived and worked in Rwanda since 2014. She began her time in Rwanda as a community health worker trainer but her main roles have been in strengthening administration and operations for both non-profit and for-profit organizations. Her educational background is in public health and she went on to earn her master's degree, in Kigali, at the University of Global Health Equity
Nathalie Bintu, Community Manager
Nathalie started as a Customer Advisor at WAKA in 2018 and quickly proved to be a talent. She now serves as the Community Manager for WAKA where she manages our work and gym communities.
Our Impact
WAKA also delivering impact across the entrepreneurial and health value chain in Rwanda:
With the funds we raise from this campaign, we will:
- build the minimum viable product of the Free Fitness mobile application; and
- support our existing WAKA community, which includes a team of over 25 Rwandan staff, 50 entrepreneurs and 1600 members.
Updates
The Campaign FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions:
- I don't know anything about Africa or Rwanda. Could you tell me a little bit about the country and your operations there?
Africa is a diverse continent made up over 54 countries and thousands of languages and cultures. Rwanda is located in Central/Eastern Africa and has been described as the "Singapore of Africa". Many people are familiar with the devastation caused by the genocide in 1994 but it is actually becoming known as Africa's reference for successful development and post-conflict reconciliation. Most importantly, Rwanda is 2nd in Africa on the World Bank's Doing Business Report, which made has made our start-up/growth experience a transparent and cooperative experience.
We would encourage checking out the resources at the bottom of the FAQ if you are interested in learning about Rwanda.
- I know gyms have been particularly affected by the pandemic? Are you currently open and operating normally? What has been the effect on your operations?
Unfortunately, as of the launch of this campaign (4 September), gyms remain closed in Rwanda. Fortunately, our co-working space was able to re-open in May and occupancy rates remain high although some members of our community who were in our flexible space are conserving resources and working from home. Throughout the pandemic, we have been offering fitness and nutritional content to members to assist with maintaining their health and wellness. Additionally, although we have had to furlough the majority of our staff, we have continued to support those most-in-need through contributions from the company.
This campaign is critical in fast-tracking our recovery to the "new normal" where we can expand our offering to more people.
- Your application plans are ambitious. How do you plan to launch and scale?
We plan on testing our Free Fitness concept within our own facilities. Once we have demonstrated proof of concept, we plan on partnering with other health facilities and businesses in Rwanda and across Africa to scale up our concept.
More about Rwanda:
- Visit Rwanda, https://www.visitrwanda.com
- Bloomberg, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFGtGfLUP4o
Please feel free to give any amount to support our dream of making fitness free for all and the existing WAKA community!
Rewards
Please feel free to give any amount to support our dream of making fitness free for all and the existing WAKA community!