Seven Rwandan information and telecommunication technology firms have entered partnership agreements with select Israeli ICT counterparts.

The partnership follows last week’s visit by a Rwandan delegation to Israel on the invitation of two Israeli investors Yariv Cohen, the chairperson of Kaenaat, a venture capital firm, and Angela Homsi, a global impact investor.

The visit, co-orgainsed by the Private Sector Federation (PSF) and the ICT Chamber, was sought to enable the local ICT gurus learn from established ICT firms as well as building collaborative partnerships that will see Israeli firms tap into the Rwandan market and vice versa.

The executive director of the private sector ICT Chamber, Alex Ntale, said Rwanda’s nascent technology sector needs to build partnerships to develop the capacity of local players in ICT.

"We are young in the technology space as a nation and we need to find partners willing to work with us on improving our capacities, whether in learning their practices, policies or outright adoption of their technologies. Israel makes a great partner,” Ntale said.

Some of the Rwandan firms to benefit from the deal include ICT Innovation hub k-Lab and Datasystems Ltd, a software development firm that also runs Gira ICT to promote the uptake of ICT devices.

Nadia Uwamahoro , the managing director of Datasystems Ltd, said the agreements would see an Israeli company take part in training Rwandan teachers in ICT as well as a firm providing affordable gadgets.

"I found a company producing a variety of affordable highly secure computers that I believe will be a great product not only in Rwanda but also in other countries in Africa, where we are doing business,” Uwamahoro said.

Steve Mutabazi, the commercial strategist of ICT department at Rwanda Development Board (RDB), said Rwanda and Israel would work closely to link firms in the two countries to tackle regional markets and learn from each other.

"It is a commitment from the government of Rwanda and we at RDB will try to make sure that in the next two years we have at least 15 companies in the country working with about the same number of companies from Israel, that is how to develop the sector,” Mutabazi said.

K-Lab’s General Manager Claudette Irere said from Israel, the local innovation hub would borrow models and strategies that had been successful in developing the nation’s entrepreneurs.

Irere said the hub is currently developing a three-year strategic plan and lessons from Israel would inform some decision in the process.

Yariv Cohen, of Kaenaat, said the new partnership would be a win-win situation for private sectors of both countries, adding that the two nations shared similarities such as minimal markets, creating the need to explore markets across borders.

"Rwanda, like Israel, is a small country so, as investors, it was important for us to share what Israel has done to succeed with only a tiny local market. It is also important to us that Rwandan business leaders teach Israeli entrepreneurs about their markets and companies so they jointly work on new solutions for the needs of the region,” Cohen said.

Patrick Kabagema, the chairperson of the private sector ICT Chamber, said there were discussions with the government and Israeli partners to establish a technology investment fund that will catalyse the growth of the technology sector.

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