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Theogene Harerimana

Theogene is a data analyst with over three years of experience in data analysis and research. He previously served as Senior Portfolio Analyst at Bboxx, where he spearheaded the portfolio department and advanced clean energy and digital inclusion in rural and peri-urban communities. Passionate about digital and economic inclusion, Theogene seeks to influence policies through data-driven approaches.

Qualifications:
  • M.Sc. in Electrical and Computer Engineering (Applied Machine Learning), Carnegie Mellon University
  • B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering, University of Rwanda
Recent Work
How data-driven decisions fueled Ishyo Foods’ growth
Sharon Akanyana’s use of data has lifted ...
25 May 2026
Bridging supply and demand in Rwanda’s data skills market
Rwanda’s ambitious digital transformation goals require a strong data skills ecosystem to support decision-making across government and priva...
25 May 2026
Why using public-sector data for policy is harder than it looks
Across Africa, as elsewhere in the world, governments are increasingly aware that data is essential for effective policymaking. Yet when ministries...
11 May 2026
What will determine the success of Rwanda’s data governance push?
Across Rwanda’s ministries and agencies, years of digital investment have produced large volumes of data. The digitisation effort led to nume...
7 May 2026
AI readiness starts with data capability
Across the world, countries are exploring the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to transform...
18 February 2026
How data interns are accelerating digital innovation in government
In 2024, the Rwandan ...
3 November 2025
Rwanda’s human journey to big data: Inside the NISR
The National ...
20 October 2025
Who is responsible? Allocating liability in digital financial services
Following our ...
8 October 2025
Transitioning a stats agency to a data services provider: Lessons from Ireland
In this interview, ...
7 August 2025
Who bears the cost? Shifting liability in digital financial services
Fraud and scam activity is increasing in African economies, as more citizens access digital f...
5 August 2025
Municipal disaster-risk-finance approaches
South Africa faces growing exposure to severe natural disasters, with annual disaster relief costs averaging R3.7 billion, 86% of which are uninsur...
6 June 2025
Diverse paths: Finance for women’s nano and micro enterprises
Women-led nano and micro enterprises (WNMEs) are central to local economies and household livelihoods, yet they rem...
28 May 2025
When security trumps sustainability: Tough choices in turbulent times
Policymakers, especially in Africa, are facing unprecedented trade-offs between economic opportunity, national security, and climate sustainabi...
19 May 2025
A leap in seamless cross-border payments in East Africa
After over a year of collaborative research, in-depth analysis, and multi-stakeholder consultation, Cenfri is proud to present the ...
12 May 2025
Testing how digitalisation could transform MSMEs in Rwanda
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) account for ...
7 May 2025
Aligning workforce skills and economic ambition in Rwanda
Gaining speed: Rwanda’s economic momentum ...
1 April 2025
What we can learn from merging datasets
Data in isolation often tells only one part of the story. Sometimes, to gain a full picture, multiple datasets must be combined to incorporate diff...
28 March 2025
Why DPI needs more than a one-size-fits-all approach
2025 is a pivotal year in global development, as we are only five years away from the current deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)...
17 February 2025
Data wrangling with graph theory
As a Data Scientist, most of my time is spent wrangling data – dealing with inconsistent formatting, unstandardised data collection and unclear d...
24 January 2025
Open finance: Learning from early adopters
At the end of November 2024, Cenfri had the opportunity to participate in the BIS Workshop on fostering financial inclusion through open finance in...
16 January 2025
Leading with data governance: Setting the foundation for a data-driven future
As outlined in the discussion on ...
20 December 2024
Developing an organisational data strategy
To enhance the use of data for decision-making, it is important to develop not only individual data skills but also institutions that have embarked...
20 December 2024
Data and scenarios provide a glimpse of a future Rwanda
For the past three decades, Rwanda has had remarkable growth. Between 1999 and 2023, real ...
18 December 2024
Harnessing data and scenario-based planning in Rwanda: A look at NST2
Rwanda’s journey toward becoming a high-income nation by 2050 is driven by clear strategic frameworks, one of which is the 2nd...
18 December 2024
7 Lessons from 2024
Our work at Cenfri rarely follows the typical rhythms of the calendar year, yet, as 2024 draws to a close, we thought it would be good to reflect o...
11 December 2024
State of inclusive instant payment systems in Africa
  Real-time retail payments that enable consumers to send and receive cross-border and domestic transactions digitally are on the rise ...
21 November 2024
Data fellows pumped to help government catalyse data use
Data can be used to improve policy decisions as well as to better understand the outcome of decisions taken. To enable this, policymakers need acce...
8 November 2024
Kenyans are value maximisers, not cost minimisers
Lessons from scaling retail health microinsurance in Kenya It is often assumed that pe...
7 November 2024
The evolution of digital payments: New developments, same fundamental questions
From experiencing the informal remittance journey first-hand on the bus to Harare, to unpacking payment system barriers in Côte d’Ivoire and Tog...
1 November 2024
Open finance in Africa: The why and the how for context-appropriate implementation
The promise of open finance has led to a rapid proliferation in countries exploring implementation globally. However, it also comes with costs and ...
14 October 2024
Bridging the Gap: Unpacking segmentation approaches and the MSE landscape in Kenya, Uganda and India
Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) are crucial drivers of economic growth in emerging markets, yet there is a persistent financing gap that restri...
10 October 2024
The new currency in microinsurance: does data access trump client volume?
Lessons from scaling retail health microinsurance in Kenya We’ve all been ther...
9 October 2024
Scaling up health microinsurance in Kenya: Insights and opportunities
How can we prevent high healthcare costs and low insurance penetration from driving peo...
9 October 2024
A pocket guide to navigating the structure of the G20
On 1 December 2024, South Africa will take over the G20 presidency. This is a fantastic opportunity for Africa. In his recent Troika ...
4 October 2024
Digitisation of government services in Rwanda: Lessons from the data
Rwanda has set ambitious goals to transition from an agrarian economy to a knowledge-based one by ...
1 October 2024
Unlocking growth: 3 key opportunities for remittance service providers
Many remittance service providers (RSPs) face a tough balancing act; they’re trying to innovate and grow, but it feels like they’re driving wit...
26 September 2024
Leveraging agricultural data for more effective policymaking
Policymakers are challenged to develop policies that will have a positive social impact. For instance, input subsidies for farmers have been widely...
9 September 2024
Supporting responsible financial sector innovation in Jordan
Cenfri, in partnership with the GIZ I-FIN project, is providing technical assistance to the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ)...
3 September 2024
R3Lab Toolkit: Regulating and enabling innovation
Innovation can enable insurance to become a powerful engine of growth and development across the continent, but achieving this requires that market...
29 August 2024
Data training resources for independent learners
Designed for people who want broad exposure to a spectrum of data science and data engineering content, these data training resources are available...
16 August 2024
Open Finance in South Africa: Promising moves, but challenges ahead
The South African Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA’s) publication of their ...
24 June 2024
Rwanda Economy Digitalisation Programme launches second phase
Kigali, 08 May 2024 – The Ministry of ICT and Innovation, the Mastercard Foundation and Cen...
13 May 2024
A new approach to tackling deforestation
Over the past three years, the Global Stocktake (GST) embarked on a consultative journey to assess progress towards the ...
22 April 2024
Navigating a career in data science
There is demand for skilled professionals in the field of data science as organisations are increasingly adopting a data-driven approach. From unco...
17 April 2024
Building the fundamentals of a welfare-enhancing digitalised economy
Digitalisation per se has marginal impact; the crux is the way it is leveraged and implemented. We need a better understanding of how digi...
15 April 2024
The Africa Fintech Hub – a platform designed to strengthen fintechs in Africa
Fintechs have the potential to significantly improve the options available to financially underserved individuals. Many fintech start-ups in Africa...
9 April 2024
Supporting the development of a digital finance index
Digital financial services are transforming global financial service provision and access. Rapid developments in fintech are disrupting and transfo...
20 March 2024
The untold realities of women cross-border traders
A diagnostic study on women cross-border traders between South Africa and Lesotho, Malawi and Mozambique​ ...
14 March 2024
Guidance on developing a data and analytics strategy
In today’s data-driven world, many organisations recognise the importance of leveraging data insights to make decisions. However, once they attem...
8 March 2024
A decade of microinsurance innovation: promising or ‘meh’?
In October 2023, ...
29 February 2024
Unique challenges and opportunities for Earth Observation in Rwanda
When I travelled the windy road from Kigali to the Volcanoes National Park to hike up Mount Bisoke, I spent most of my time looking out the window ...
29 February 2024
Case study: Enhancing telecommunications connectivity through data analytics
The Government of Rwanda’s ambitious plan to become a cashless economy by 2024 has seen significant efforts and investments in the cashless a...
22 February 2024
Then and now: Is Ethiopia at an inflection point after 15 years of insurance underdevelopment?
Very little has changed in the Ethiopian insurance industry over the last fifteen years but there is a po...
22 February 2024
Digitising destinations: a tourist’s journey starts online
COVID-19 turned some of us into virtual voyagers. We spent hours scrolling through posts of p...
20 February 2024
Open Finance in Africa: Designing context-appropriate approaches for the financial sector
Open Finance can be defined as the sharing of consumer data between financial service providers (FSPs) and/or third-party providers on the basis of...
8 February 2024
Reflections on the policy evolution in Rwanda’s ICT sector
In implementing the ...
10 October 2023
Remittances, a vital contributor to the SDGs
Remittances are a valuable lifeline for Africans, with over USD 100 billion flowing into the continent annually from a m...
29 September 2023
Impact from the Remittance Access Initiative
KYC and CDD requirements can inhibit access to remittances for low-income, r...
27 September 2023
Catalysing the use of data and digital technology for tourism in Ghana
Ghana’s tourism industry presents an exciting landscape for growth, ...
21 September 2023
Mutual digital infrastructure could drive formalised, inclusive payments in SADC
Interoperable payment systems improve the efficiency and effectiveness of retail and cross-border payments. Cenfri worked with BankservAfrica on a ...
24 August 2023
Guidance notes to public sector data frameworks
If properly catalogued, classif...
3 August 2023
Developing capacity to boost data-driven decision-making in Rwanda
In recent years, Rwanda has embarked on a transformative journey towards digitalisation to fuel economic growth and innovation. The ...
17 July 2023
An assessment of customer due diligence and identity regulatory frameworks
Innovation opportunities for enhanced remittance access...
19 May 2023
Understanding CBDC and its application in emerging markets
Central banks have cited several reasons for considering or piloting central bank digital currencies (CBDC). These inclu...
3 March 2023
Digitisation contributes to improved remittance access and a better customer experience
The ...
23 February 2023
Tailored CBDC technical assistance in emerging markets
Reco...
8 February 2023
5 lessons for designing fit-for-purpose health microinsurance
Gakere is a 49-year-old mechanic from Nairobi, and like ...
31 January 2023
Revealing the consumer experience of digital finance in low- and middle-income countries
Consumers face several frustrations with the potential to affect their experience of digital financial services. These include system glitches, ina...
24 January 2023
Insurance regulation and innovation: An assessment of 8 African insurance markets
To support regulatory authorities in sub-Saharan Africa in promoting inclusive insurance market development, there is a ...
24 November 2022
Consumer protection in digital finance
The authors of this report would like to acknowledge the support of the International Dialogue on Consumer Protection...
18 November 2022
Data insights in achieving retail growth in Rwanda
The retail and trade (merchant) sector is one of the priority sectors for the ...
14 November 2022
Enhancing identity verification for refugees in Uganda
In Uganda, refugees and asylum seekers struggle to cash out their remittances due to challenging and time-consuming identity verification processes...
21 October 2022
Training improves ability to unlock value from data
Capacity-development is a vital part of the ...
13 October 2022
What will it take to build innovative insurance markets in Sub-Saharan Africa?
Despite the best efforts of sub-Saharan African (SSA) insurers, most African citizens ...
6 October 2022
Lessons on improving remittance access in Africa
Learnings from the ...
23 September 2022
Agriculture an important policy priority for Rwanda
Agriculture plays a major role in the Rwandan economy: close to 75% of the population’s livelihood depends on farming. However, the majority of t...
21 September 2022
The potential of CBDCs for financial inclusion
...
9 September 2022
Cenfri joins the Smart Africa Alliance
Kigali, Monday 29th August 2022  – The ...
29 August 2022
Responsive and responsible regulation
The value of non-legally binding guidance Regulation is ...
11 August 2022
CBDC for emerging markets: realities and expectations
Cenfri has deepened its work on CBDC amid growing interest from central banks ...
4 August 2022
What is data-driven decision making and what does it mean for Rwanda?
Nothing illustrates the incredible power of data-driven decision-making more than the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Lamenting the disparit...
25 July 2022
Holistic risk solutions for MSME resilience in Egypt
Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in Egypt Micro, small and medium-sized ent...
21 July 2022
Building a data skills foundation is necessary to achieve meaningful digitalisation
One of the reasons so much emphasis is placed on digitalisation is...
15 July 2022
Private sector partnerships for MSME resilience: Learnings from Africa
Opportunities await insurers and tech providers who are willing to work together ...
8 July 2022
Insurance Innovation Dialogue
About the Insurance Innovation Dialogue  To support insurance regulatory authorities ...
6 July 2022
The role of different partners for effective MSME insurance
Insurers can partner with digital platforms, lenders and insurance aggregators to offer better products that...
24 May 2022
Delivering remittances at the last mile
The role of...
12 May 2022
Applying a gender lens to trade finance
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are considered engines of economic growth and development, especially in developing ...
3 May 2022
Data scientists contribute to data-driven policymaking in Rwanda
The ...
20 April 2022
Enhancing risk assessment processes for improved remittance access
Early insights from IFAD’s Financing Facility for Remittances and Cenfri Our work wi...
12 April 2022
The role of women and finance in climate action
A changing climate affects everyone, but it’s the world’s poorest and most vulnerable, predominantly women and girls, who bear the brunt of env...
8 March 2022
Opportunities for remittance-linked insurance products in SSA
A demand-side perspective of the risk management and resilience needs of remittance senders from South Africa to G...
22 January 2022
Digitalizing farm to table supply chains in Asia
On-demand transport services and insurtech  Whether as a customer or...
25 October 2021
Empowering people to solve problems that matter
How Cenfri makes systemic change happen In helping to build...
21 October 2021
A fair exchange: What Kenyans expect when sharing financial data
In January 2026, Tools for Humanity was ...
29 May 2026
Liability in digital finance: the importance of consumer recourse
There are expanded risks and consumer harms that come with financial service digitalisation. A digitised financial system has more participants, mu...
15 May 2026
More posts by Theogene Harerimana