In partnership with
The Rwanda Economy Digitalisation Programme is a six-year digital transformation initiative by the Government of Rwanda, the Mastercard Foundation and Cenfri. The programme works with 71point4 and policymakers to develop evidence-based and inclusive policies to reduce poverty and digitise the Rwandan economy.
For more information on this programme, download the brochure or email either the Director General of Innovation and Emerging Technologies at MINICT at ekunda@minict.gov.rw or Cenfri Rwanda’s Country and Partnerships Policy Lead at Arlette@cenfri.org.
Hawa Chloe Niyigena built a Rwandan juice company from scratch in her family’s kitchen but transitioning the business from survival to strategy meant learning to trust data over instinct. For years, Niyigena believed passion fruit was the backbone of her juice business. It was consistently moving in high volumes, and
Rwanda’s public sector has, over time, built substantial digital systems across ministries and agencies. These systems generate large volumes of administrative and operational data. Yet the presence of data has not always translated into its effective use. Across institutions, a consistent gap emerged. Data existed, often in large quantities, but
Introduction Harnessing the transformative potential of AI for positive outcomes requires careful navigation by decision-makers. To support this process, Cenfri has developed an AI Implementation Framework to help public sector decision-makers in emerging economies assess how AI tools should be integrated, localised, governed, and safeguarded within their specific institutional contexts.
At WASAC, Rwanda’s Water and Sanitation Corporation, data once sat in silos, fragmented, delayed, and difficult to act on. Today, its leadership can track water connection, consumption, revenue, production, and cost in near real-time through an executive dashboard. This data dashboard was developed as part of the Rwanda Economy Digitalisation
Across Rwanda’s ministries and agencies, years of digital investment have produced large volumes of data. The digitisation effort led to numerous government services being made available online, and the further development of infrastructure to support that. Even though that has been achieved an important task remains and that is the
Across the world, countries are exploring the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to transform public services, economic growth, and governance. Rwanda is no exception. At present, the country leverages AI models developed externally, including systems such as ChatGPT and other similar LLMs (large language models). There is growing ambition to develop locally built AI systems for national
Too often, financial systems overlook the lived realities of women, leading to products, policies, and market structures that do not adequately serve them. In an effort to change this, Cenfri applies a gender lens across its financial inclusion and market diagnostics work. We have developed a portfolio of related work
AI is reshaping every part of public life, from how governments analyse information to how they design public services. Countries across the world are grappling with the implications of these technologies, and Rwanda is investing early in the institutional capability required to govern them responsibly. The Ministry of ICT and
For those in development, 2025 has been a bit of a wild ride and many organisations have been doing some introspection. The team at Cenfri has been thinking about how we can continue to pursue evidence-driven impact, financial independence and sustainability with an inspired, capable and purpose-driven team (our enduring
In 2024, the Rwandan Ministry of Infrastructure (MININFRA) partnered with the Rwanda Economy Digitalisation (RED) Programme with a clear objective: to strengthen its capacity to manage data, drive faster project delivery, and use digital tools to inform national planning. Cenfri spoke with Romalice Ishimwe, Chief Digital Officer at the Ministry
Hawa Chloe Niyigena built a Rwandan juice company from scratch in her family’s kitchen but transitioning the business from survival to strategy meant learning to trust data over instinct. For years, Niyigena believed passion fruit was the backbone of her juice business. It was consistently moving in high volumes, and
Rwanda’s public sector has, over time, built substantial digital systems across ministries and agencies. These systems generate large volumes of administrative and operational data. Yet the presence of data has not always translated into its effective use. Across institutions, a consistent gap emerged. Data existed, often in large quantities, but
Introduction Harnessing the transformative potential of AI for positive outcomes requires careful navigation by decision-makers. To support this process, Cenfri has developed an AI Implementation Framework to help public sector decision-makers in emerging economies assess how AI tools should be integrated, localised, governed, and safeguarded within their specific institutional contexts.
At WASAC, Rwanda’s Water and Sanitation Corporation, data once sat in silos, fragmented, delayed, and difficult to act on. Today, its leadership can track water connection, consumption, revenue, production, and cost in near real-time through an executive dashboard. This data dashboard was developed as part of the Rwanda Economy Digitalisation
Across Rwanda’s ministries and agencies, years of digital investment have produced large volumes of data. The digitisation effort led to numerous government services being made available online, and the further development of infrastructure to support that. Even though that has been achieved an important task remains and that is the
Across the world, countries are exploring the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to transform public services, economic growth, and governance. Rwanda is no exception. At present, the country leverages AI models developed externally, including systems such as ChatGPT and other similar LLMs (large language models). There is growing ambition to develop locally built AI systems for national
Too often, financial systems overlook the lived realities of women, leading to products, policies, and market structures that do not adequately serve them. In an effort to change this, Cenfri applies a gender lens across its financial inclusion and market diagnostics work. We have developed a portfolio of related work
AI is reshaping every part of public life, from how governments analyse information to how they design public services. Countries across the world are grappling with the implications of these technologies, and Rwanda is investing early in the institutional capability required to govern them responsibly. The Ministry of ICT and
For those in development, 2025 has been a bit of a wild ride and many organisations have been doing some introspection. The team at Cenfri has been thinking about how we can continue to pursue evidence-driven impact, financial independence and sustainability with an inspired, capable and purpose-driven team (our enduring
In 2024, the Rwandan Ministry of Infrastructure (MININFRA) partnered with the Rwanda Economy Digitalisation (RED) Programme with a clear objective: to strengthen its capacity to manage data, drive faster project delivery, and use digital tools to inform national planning. Cenfri spoke with Romalice Ishimwe, Chief Digital Officer at the Ministry
