The Ministry of ICT and Innovation, the Mastercard Foundation, and Cenfri on Wednesday, May 8 announced the launch of the second phase of Rwanda's Economy Digitalization Program.

A tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed to build upon the success of the first phase and to improve the lives of citizens through data-driven policy and business decisions.

Cenfri, a non-profit development consultancy focused on boosting economic growth and increase sustainable development, has been pivotal in generating reliable data for financial inclusion in Rwanda. Over the past three years, the program has accessed and analyzed more than 46 datasets from public and private sectors, impacting at least 15 discrete policy issues and materially changing the trajectory for many of them.

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The Minister of ICT and Innovation, Paula Ingabire, noted that the partnership with the Mastercard Foundation and Cenfri has been key to fostering a culture of data-driven innovation in Rwanda.

"We have the ambition to position and strengthen Rwanda as a proof-of-concept market," Ingabire said. "Data is at the heart of innovation and technology, which are central to our mandate,” She said.

The program's second phase will target poverty reduction through data-driven decision-making, focusing on the retail, tourism, education, and agriculture sectors.

The Country Director for the Mastercard Foundation, David Rurangirwa, highlighted that the program is essential to guiding youth toward meaningful employment, emphasizing the importance of including all communities in the technology space.

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The program also aims at enhancing digital financial inclusion and youth employment in rural micro, small, and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs), improving market visibility and operational efficiency for the private sector.

Cenfri’s Managing Director Doubell Chamberlain said the organization is looking forward to supporting Rwanda's journey toward data-informed decision-making in the next three years.

"We will continue to strengthen the data ecosystem in Rwanda by working with the government of Rwanda and private sector partners to build skills, support the maturing of data value chains, and demonstrate the impact of a data-led approach on key policy and business decisions," Chamberlain said.

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The program will support Rwanda's Vision 2050 objectives through scenario-building exercises and contribute to broader policy development.

By strengthening the country's data ecosystem, the initiative aims to solidify Rwanda's status as a leader in data-driven policymaking.