Rwandan Government launches DigiCenter to Turn Ideas Into Products

Despite Rwanda’s high economic growth in recent years, the major challenge of unemployment and underemployment persists. With a majority of the population working in agriculture, the average income earned is relatively low.

Promoting employment and evolving to a knowledge and service-based economy are high on Rwanda’s development agenda. In line with this, the Rwandan Government has launched a Digital Transformation Center (DigiCenter) with the support of the German Cooperation, GIZ.

The DigiCenter is a project unit for the Digital Solutions for Sustainable Development (DSSD) program. It was established to promote digitization in Rwanda through the development of digital solutions by Africans for Africans.

It brings together academic IT knowledge, technical know-how, and tech startups to drive digitization. By providing a space to reevaluate and redesign interactions and processes between citizens and the government, DigiCenter is leveraging technology to operate in new ways and solve problems.

DigiCenter supports tech startups and companies through the digital transformation process by providing necessary training and resources to take initial ideas and solution concepts to the implementation stage.

Nonetheless, the Center will be a starting point for developing creative digital solutions. It will also help the Rwandan government in establishing structures and capacities to develop, implement, and disseminate digital solutions.