Local information and communication technology business operators have reached out to the Japanese business community with an aim to jointly pursue business interests. 

The two business communities had their first formal interaction last month during a business trip by a delegation of the ICT chamber of the Private Sector Federation (PSF).

The trip, from September 9 to 20, was facilitated by the Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA).

Under the cooperation, partnership and business framework, the two countries are seeking to facilitate Japanese firms looking to penetrate the African market increase their relevance to the market by tailor-making their products and services.

The process presents partnership opportunities for local firms to grow and expand to the regional market.

Alex Ntale, the executive director of ICT chamber at PSF, said the cooperation and technology exchange would boost efforts toward Rwanda’s goal of becoming a knowledge-based economy.

"Japan is an advanced economy in terms of technology adoption and development. As an African country that aspires to be a technology hub, it is strategic to work with such a strong partner,” Ntale, who was on Tuesday speaking on the sidelines of a meeting convened to share the positive outcomes of the business trip, said.

The delegation from seven firms that travelled to Japan also made efforts to rally Japanese companies into the chamber’s business outsourcing strategy of creating at least 1,000 software engineering jobs.

If successful, the initiative could see Japanese companies outsource software development of products such as mobile applications to Rwandan developers.

So far, three Japanese companies have expressed interest while a Rwandan firm, WiredIn Japan, established its presence in Japan during the trip.

Yamanaka Atsushi, a JICA advisor to the ICT chamber and the Ministry of Youth and ICT, said Japan has in recent years developed interest in the African market and it was a good time for Rwanda to position itself as the gateway into Africa.

"We want to start working with these Japanese firms to create products in conjunction with Rwandans for the African market. This will provide capacity to local producers to be able to grow into the regional market and beyond,” Yamanaka said.

The chamber’s vice-president, Robert Ford, who headed the delegation to Japan, said, in coming days, Rwandan firms will pursue potential business ties they made during the trip.

Among the local firms that reached partnership agreements with Japanese firms include Imaginet Limited, a web and application development company.

Jimmy Rutabingwa, the firm’s chief executive, said they had met a partner firm during the trip who they will team up with to develop electronic learning solutions.

JICA’s chief representative in Rwanda Takahiro Moriya said his agency and the Japanese government were keen on facilitating the growth of the private sector in the country through connecting them to potential partners.

The agency has been working closely with the ICT private sector to facilitate ICT growth as well as help with development of human resource.

The ICT chamber has in previous months made several trips to different nations across the world in pursuit of partnership opportunities and new markets.

Ntale said the trips and missions had led to business opportunities.

Among local firms that have benefited from the trips include Vision Technologies, now a regional distributor for Samsung products after visiting South Korea.

In 2013, Japan launched the African Business Education Initiative to act as a link between private sectors of the country and Africa.

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