The Ministry of ICT and Innovation, MasterCard Foundation, and Cenfri— a non-profit development consultancy focused on boosting economic growth and increasing sustainable development—hosted a cocktail party to celebrate the launch of the second phase of the Rwanda Economy Digitalisation programme on Friday, May 10.

This was an opportunity to acknowledge the second phase, which will concentrate on further utilising data insights for decision-making, and to observe the milestones achieved in the first phase of the programme with all the key stakeholders involved.

The cocktail was organised to celebrate this new chapter and to thank multiple stakeholders that have been instrumental in driving evidence-based decision-making in Rwanda. Among the invitees were government institutions, private companies, and development partners.

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According to Arlette Rwakazina, Country Lead at Cenfri, the programme has four work streams: "Data and research, policy intervention, capacity building, learning and communication, but in this second phase, we are adding another stream that focuses only on innovation. It will focus only on the private sector, making sure the enterprises use the data they have to increase revenue or diversify their offering,” Rwakazina explained.

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Elisee Kamanzi, Agriculture Programme Lead at MasterCard Foundation, underlined the importance of technology and data, as well as how the ultimate goal of this second phase is to alleviate poverty and create resilient populations, particularly among Rwandan youth.

"When we launch a programme, we want to see the ripple effects extend beyond the general public and dip into the lives of the most excluded, typically women and, in certain cases, individuals living in rural areas,” Kamanzi said.

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The Minister of ICT and Innovation, Paula Ingabire, expressed gratitude to all present for celebrating the completion of the past three years of data-driven research, indicating that they are prepared for more work in the upcoming years.

"We’ve seen it through that discomfort, but that discomfort has also yielded extremely wonderful results, including a network of allies who believe in the potential of data, specifically the power of leveraging data for social economic growth,” Ingabire said.

The programme 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.

It will support Rwanda’s Vision 2050 objectives through scenario-building exercises and contribute to broader policy development, and aims to solidify Rwanda’s status as a leader in data-driven policymaking.