InnovationExecutive SummaryRwandaICT centric innovationecosystem country review
I am proud and pleased to present this study, the second of a series of country reviews thatcan help strengthen the capacity of ITU Member States to integrate ICT innovation in theirnational development agendas. This ICT Centric Innovation Country Review provides aroadmap and a framework for the journey toward a digital economy.Innovation plays a major role in the global development agenda by enabling digitaltransformation and creating new and improved services for citizens. Bringing multiplestakeholders and sectors together to strengthen innovation ecosystems is essential tounlocking opportunities and ensuring sustainability.Brahima SanouDirector, TelecommunicationDevelopment Bureau, ITUThe key to winning the future for the next generation is job creation through the powerfulcombination of innovation and entrepreneurship.Under the Smart Rwanda Master Plan, Rwanda’s digital transformation journey has taken off,but a lot more remains to be done. The Digital Innovation Framework will be instrumentalin accelerating the growth and maturity of our technology ecosystem and enabling theyoung people of Rwanda and Africa create tech profitable enterprises that will transformeducation, healthcare, finance, government and other key domains of our economy.Hon Jean PhilbertNsengimanaMinister of Youth & ICT,Rwanda2Executive Summary — Rwanda — ICT Centric innovation ecosystem country review
This is a brief summary of the ICTCentric Innovation Ecosystem CountryReview for Rwanda, available fromthe ITU. That report provides insightsinto key issues related to innovation inRwanda, based the views and needs ofthe 6 main stakeholder groups, PublicSector, Private Sector, Entrepreneurs,Entrepreneurial Support Networks,Finance, and Academia, and the inputsof global experts, fellow internationalorganizations and good practice ownersfrom around the world.ITU, and especially the BDT, has beenactively fostering ICT led developmentfor numerous years. In 2014, at theITU WTDC in Dubai (United ArabEmirates), its membership approved astrategic and operational plan for theBDT that includes strengthening ITUMember State capacity to integrate ICTinnovation in national developmentagenda. This priority has beenreaffirmed in SDG goal 9.Executive Summary — Rwanda — ICT Centric innovation ecosystem country review wanda has been rapidly developing in recent years. TheRcountry met most MDGs by 2015 and has seen 8% or highereconomic growth since 2001.While poverty remains an issue, with a GNI of 700USD percapita in 2015 and a heavy reliance on subsistence farming,the government is pursuing an aggressive digital strategy totransform the country into a knowledge based-economy.Rwanda’s ICT centric innovation ecosystem is currently at anearly stage of development, but rapid progress is happeningwith the key pillars of support networks, capital and talent. trong leadership, a clear vision and investments in a nationalSfiber optic backbone, 4G and other digital infrastructure haveprepared Rwanda for success as the ecosystem develops. he market’s capacity to absorb ICT products remains limitedTby income levels, low penetration of smart devices and digitalliteracy.Entrepreneurs have opportunities to develop solutions todomestic needs, strengthening ICT awareness and usage andbringing higher value to many sectors of the economy.Public procurement is helping to support the market, butinnovators need to be better organized to win large businesseswith government.3
ITU-D Innovation Platform: Innovation Ecosystem CanvasCapital and Resources 4.06Networks and Markets 5.94Policy andRegulation6.16Talent and Champions 4.88Culture and Communities 5.21Vision andStrategy6.39Infrastructure and Programmes 4.89This Ecosystem Canvas is an at-a-glance overview of the key components in theinnovation ecosystem. Scores are based on stakeholder interviews on a 0-10 scale.4Executive Summary — Rwanda — ICT Centric innovation ecosystem country review
CurrentlandscapeINFRASTRUCTURE AND PROGRAMMES:Traditional, hard infrastructure (esp. connectivity) andsoft (knowledge) infrastructure, including programmes tofoster innovation. Hard infrastructure is well established.But, last mile connectivity remains an issue in someareas. ICT usage is still very low, due to high costs andlow awareness. Soft infrastructure is underdeveloped,especially outside Kigali.VISION AND STRATEGY:The need for a clear direction for the ecosystem, anagreement on major issues and collaboration in movingforward. In Rwanda, the Vision 2020, NICI and SRMPstrategies have set a strong direction for the ecosystem.However, these haven’t fully incorporated roles for manyecosystem stakeholders, and going forward need toprepare to shift to private sector leadership.TALENT AND CHAMPIONS:The availability and distribution of appropriatetechnical and soft skills, and the work of leaders in theecosystem. Both soft skills and technical skills need to bestrengthened, especially in terms of hands on experience.Good practices, such as CMU, AIMS, ALU, ICTP andRwanda Centers of Excellence represent early efforts bythe government and ecosystem to address these issuesthrough improved training and talent mobility.CAPITAL AND RESOURCES:Investment, public and private, domestic andinternational, and funding for research, supportprogrammes and other key activities. Very little privateinvestment is available in the ecosystem. Most resourcescome from government procurement, with someadditional resources coming from abroad. Some effortsare trying to address this, but are at an early phase.NETWORKS AND MARKETS:Access to domestic, international and B2B markets.Work of formal and informal networks and clusters.Low ICT adoption and incomes have limited the growthof the domestic market. Regional integration andpublic procurement have supplemented the domesticmarket. Clusters are underutilized, and networks aren’tcomprehensive, but both are present.Executive Summary — Rwanda — ICT Centric innovation ecosystem country reviewCULTURE AND COMMUNITIES:Entrepreneurial interest, risk acceptance and a cultureof innovation, along with the communities to help fosterthem. Entrepreneurial interest is driven by a need tocreate new businesses and jobs for young people.Risk aversion is a minor issue, but is made worse byvulnerability to economic shock, communities are working,but at an early phase.POLICY AND REGULATION:The essential work of government, including policiesrelated to taxes, immigration, IP, trade, and other issues.Generally, the public sector is engaged in their role asstakeholders. Some stakeholders noted the potential ofcollaboration systems and would like to see their wideradoption, especially on specific policies, such as taxationand procurement procedures.5
Key pointsICT sector skills gapMobile money in 00Number of subscribers0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 201120122012201420150Volume of transactionsValue of transactions (in Million RwF)Mobile payments20112012201320142015Number of ,199Volume of transactions3,420,88522,191,67451,024161,808Value of transactions(in Million RwF)57,147,777 104,800,000 168,612,455330,378691,5001,093,497Skills gapThe lack of appropriate human capital was amajor issue raised by respondents. Though thenumber of available graduates in technical soft(communications and business) and support(legal, administrative and accounting) skills werenoted as issues, hands on experience in theseareas was potentially a bigger issue.6Mobile MoneyIt was often reported that consumers were slowto adopt new technologies. However the rapidadoption of mobile money shows that this likelystems from the appropriateness and perceivedvalue of solutions, rather than other factors.Executive Summary — Rwanda — ICT Centric innovation ecosystem country review
Innovation strategiesThe NICI, Smart Rwanda Master Plan, andVision 2020 strategies have led to tremendousprogress, and upcoming projects, such as theKigali Innovation City have the potential to furtheraccelerate ecosystem development.Fibre optic accessThe development of communicationsinfrastructure has been rapid, bringingconnectivity to all districts of the country. Issuesof ICT awareness and usage still limit markets,but these developments are encouraging.IremboAs in many developing contexts, the ecosystemleader and the primary consumer of ICTservices is the public sector through publicservice transformation and similar projects. Thisis often essential in establishing an ecosystem,but a shift to private leadership and consumeror B2B products should be a priority.Executive Summary — Rwanda — ICT Centric innovation ecosystem country review7
Goodpractices8TelecentreOutreacheffortsHehe InternshipprogramKLabsCarnegie MellonClassThe Rwanda TelecentreNetwork provides basiclevel access to ICT toolsand infrastructure,allowing many people,especially in ruralareas, who would nototherwise have accessto use ICT services.They were discussedas a strong base forexpanding ruralinfrastructure, as well.ICT outreach efforts,including promotionof government andbanking services,providing anintroduction to ICTservices. It has beenseen as responsiblefor much of the rapidacceptance of mobilemoney services andthe adoption ofthe public servicetransformation efforts.When Hehe Labsfound that they couldnot access graduateswith the skills andexperience theyneeded, they launcheda 6 month training andinternship programmeto train potentialprogrammers anddesigners. Thismirrors good practicesobserved in manyecosystems.Support servicesthrough KLabs andImpact Hub Kigali, area good start towarddeveloping innovationsupport networks, ifonly a start. Notableare KLab’s “Face theGorillas” investmentevent and ImpactHub’s work developingan entrepreneurialcommunity.Attracting CMURwanda is a goodpractice in effortsto strengthenhuman capital inRwanda. CMU bringsinternationallyrecognized ICTeducation tothe country, hasexperience developingkey connections withthe private sector, andis proposed to anchorKigali Innovation City.Executive Summary — Rwanda — ICT Centric innovation ecosystem country review
Stakeholder interface canvasEntrepeneur lifecyclePre Idea& CultureSMEStartupHighGrowth“Valley of -IdeaIdeationStartupThe “Valleyof Death”SMEEntrepreneursEntrepreneurial InterestEngage with problemsDevelop business modelsBuild collaborationExpandFinanceResearch fundingSeed fundingAngel investmentVenture capitalBusiness finance & loansEntrepreneurialSupportEntrepreneurial eventsHackathons & competitionsCoworking & supportIncubators & acceleratorsBusiness associationPrivate SectorSuccess storiesResearch programsLab programsB2B & Support servicesSkill training programsAcademiaEntrepreneurcommunityBasic researchSpin offsSoft skill trainingHuman capitalPublic SectorVision & strategyIP & R&D supportTax supportPublic procurementTrade policyThe stakeholder interface canvas quickly analyses the work of the ecosystem in covering the key activities to support innovations from pre-ideation to high growth. Itdescribes the role each stakeholder group can take on to support entrepreneurs and innovators at each stage of their lifecycle. It is colour coded to show areas which arewell-supported (green), insufficient (yellow), missing (red) or weak, but with specific programmes underway (blue).Executive Summary — Rwanda — ICT Centric innovation ecosystem country review9
RecommendationsThe followingrecommendations weredeveloped based on theneeds and priorities of thestakeholders in the Rwandaninnovation ecosystem. Eachis presented alongside anexample of a good practice anda potential project which wouldcontribute to achieving therecommendation.CREATION OF SKILLED LABOURIN THE MARKETPLACEThere is a need to guide more youngpeople into ICT careers, throughcommunity outreach, mentorshipand strengthened curricula. Alongwith this, stronger links should befostered between the public sectorand academia to provide hands onexperience and more specific skills10training. Finally, it may be necessaryto facilitate firms hiring internationaltalent as a short term solution to thelack of human capital.Good Practice: Start Up Chile hassuccessfully attracted internationalentrepreneurs, with part of therequirements being that they serveas mentors and work with Chileaneducation.Project: Foster Young People in ICTCareers: A combination of expandedoutreach for ICT careers and aprogramme to develop ICT curricula,mentorship and internships togetherwith the private sector. Estimatedcost: 2 millionGUIDING INNOVATION ACTIVITIESThe process of public servicetransformation should be acceleratedand completed, in parallel withthe establishment of public‘Coding skills are easy,but you need peoplewho can convey aprecise blueprint anddevelopers who cando their research.’Ecosystem stakeholderExecutive Summary — Rwanda — ICT Centric innovation ecosystem country review
data sandboxes to encourageentrepreneurship based on bigdata from the public sector.Entrepreneurship and innovationfocusing on domestic issues shouldalso be incentivized, using ICTinnovation to benefit developmentefforts. Programmes should also try tobring international entrepreneurs andfirms into the ecosystem to developmore success stories.Good Practice: The Kenya RevenueAuthority is extending theirinnovation leadership via MoUs withvarious key innovation networksand an annual competition to fosterinnovation based on public data.Project: Accelerate and CompletePublic Service Transformation:Develop a digital agency to completepublic service transformation, anddevelop API, open data and otherstandards, and create an open datasandbox service through a lab orcluster. Estimated cost: 2.5 millionSTRENGTHEN INFRASTRUCTUREAND ICT MARKETSTo improve domestic markets forExecutive Summary — Rwanda — ICT Centric innovation ecosystem country reviewinnovative ICTs, there is a need tostrengthen connectivity amongpoorer communities throughsubsidies and last mile solutions.Along with this, there should be aneffort to improve public trust andinfrastructure resilience throughcybersecurity investment and similarefforts.Good Practice: The RwandaTelecentre Network has been highlysuccessful at providing access to ICTservices in rural areas. Their networkcan be leveraged to further developinfrastructure.Project: Strengthen ConnectivityAmong Poorer Communities: Fostera TTO programme and work togetherwith domestic and internationalecosystem stakeholders to leveragethe RTN to develop last milesolutions. Estimated Cost: 2 millionDEVELOP SUPPORT FORENTREPRENEURSHIPThere is a need to develop supportnetworks, investment, B2B services,and soft infrastructure. These arekey supports that entrepreneurswill need to succeed in Rwandaas the ecosystem develops. Also,developing an ICT bridge cluster,encouraging collaboration betweenICT firms and other key verticals willhelp innovators develop.Good Practice: The Input Programmein Hungary works to developeducation, mentoring and marketaccess for innovators in that country,in part by a network of supportservices throughout the country.Project: Rwandan Hub Network:Create a central board to providegood practices and resources forhubs and labs, connect innovatorsand services, and connect serviceswith international resources, workingwith local ecosystems and existingnetworks to do so. Estimated Cost: 5 million, 5 million matching fundsCATALYSE AND DEVELOP ASUSTAINABLESINGLE REGIONAL DIGITALMARKETWorking together with Smart Africaand neighbouring countries runreviews of ICT centric innovation11
ecosystems, find possibilities to alignprogrammes and policy and developlinkages, and create a sharingplatform for good practices on aregional level.Good Practice: EIT Digital and StartupEurope in Estonia have mobilizeda pan-European network of over130 top ecosystem stakeholders tostrengthen ICT innovation across theEU.Project: Fostering a Single RegionalDigital Market: Develop countryreviews, an experience sharingplatform and shared ICT policyframeworks throughout the SmartAfrica countries.Estimated Cost: 1.5million, 1million matching fundsREVISE LEGAL FRAMEWORKS ANDDEVELOP AN IMPLEMENTATIONPLATFORMAn institution for engagementbetween stakeholders, shouldgather for regular consultationand collaboration, developingnew projects, implementing theserecommendations and helping to12revise legal regimes connectedto taxes, immigration, IP, publicprocurement and other areas relatedto innovation.Good Practice: The Supply SideOptimizer Innovation AgencyModel developed by NESTA worksto connect the public and privatesectors and develop partnershipsand linkages.Project Ecosystem Bridging andImplementation Institution: Createan agency to develop programmesand policies in collaboration withother stakeholders. Estimated Cost: 600,000, plus project funds.The innovation ecosystem inRwanda has been undergoingrapid development, and a numberof fundamental shifts which havepositioned the ecosystem forsuccess in a number of key ways.The proposals presented heresuggest ways to build on thoseshifts and more effectively developan innovative economy. The reportstarted with a workshop bringingtogether key stakeholders andlaying out their vision and prioritiesfor the ecosystem in a collaborativedocument. Continuing thisjourney, the report presents tools,methodologies and frameworksthat bring the benefits of digitalinnovation, and it suggests wherethe study can be expanded andrepeated, especially following thedevelopment of the ITU-D InnovationPolicy Toolkit, which will detailthe process for Member States toreplicate.Many opportunities remain untappedin order to create new services, newjobs and new growth for Rwanda.Successful policy experimentationin Rwanda will require that eachstakeholder think critically abouttheir role, their opportunities, andtheir commitment. Much workremains to convert such a report intotangible programmes, but the toolsand framework in this report willempower stakeholders to acceleratetheir journey towards transformingRwanda into an innovation drivensociety.
To implement and develop theabove recommendations, specificinitiatives and projects have beensuggested, totalling USD 20 millionwith approximately 50% driven bythe public sector, and roughly 30%by the private sector as matchingfunds and initiatives, and the rest byinternational organization with vestedinterest in the common regionalagenda. These suggestions offerby no means definitive budgets orproject plans, but rather meant togive a good example of what it willtake to start changing the direction ofdigital innovation in Rwanda.‘93% of the population may becovered, but not 93% of the country.You can go and check in with thegorillas and have full signal, but it’snot everywhere.’Ecosystem stakeholderExecutive Summary — Rwanda — ICT Centric innovation ecosystem country reviewThe ultimate goal of this report isto empower the stakeholders totake advantage of the preparationswhich have laid the groundwork forsuccess and to drive their own destinyin creating a vibrant ecosystem. Byempowering these stakeholders, notonly can Rwanda become a regionalleader in ICTs with an innovativeprivate sector and all of its associatedeconomic benefits, but innovation cantransform the lives of people on theground, through new technologiesand services.13
AcknowledgementsThe Rwanda ICT Innovation Ecosystem reportwas prepared by the Innovation Service within theTelecommunication Development Bureau of ITU;Algorithm IncIPRCMINEDUCRRAAxiom NetworksKLabMTNRTNThe claims and views expressed in this report arestrictly those of the authors and the respondentsinterviewed. They do not reflect the opinions orpolicies of the Rwanda Government. Quotations havebeen kept anonymous and information aggregated inthe interests of privacy.BPRLiquid TelecomMyICTSmart AfricaCity of e LabsMINECOFINNISRThe Office (Impact Hub)HexakombMINICOMRDBUniversity of RwandaICT ChamberMINISANTERICTAVugaPayParticular thanks are owed to the followingstakeholders who agreed to be interviewed, andwhose experiences and insights were instrumental tothe process of the country review.All information presented as being based onstakeholder opinion is based on the institutionssurveyed, with N 32. Workshops were also held,informing qualitative discussions, with 71 participants,total.14Executive Summary — Rwanda — ICT Centric innovation ecosystem country review
InternationalTelecommunicationUnionPlace des NationsCH-1211 Geneva 20SwitzerlandPrinted in SwitzerlandGeneva, 2017Photo credits: Shutterstock
Hon Jean Philbert Nsengimana Minister of Youth & ICT, Rwanda The key to winning the future for the next generation is job creation through the powerful combination of innovation and entrepreneurship. Under the Smart Rwanda Master Plan, Rwanda’s digital transformation journey has taken off, but a lot more remains to be done.
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