Kigali-based Hence Technologies has laid out plans to continue growing and scaling operations in Rwanda, especially in finding the best problem-solvers, designers, and engineers as well as data scientists. The development comes a few days after the startup secured an additional $1.8 million in seed funding from various institutions and angel investors, bringing the total amount raised to $2.6 million in the past two years. The startup uses data from various sources to match the internal legal teams of its client companies with external legal service providers — which gives it the ability to recommend lawyers based on the nature of the assignment, location and cost considerations. “The company began its operations in Rwanda in early 2020. It is headquartered in UK but we are building out the technology base from here in Kigali with a team from across Africa. We want to show the world that you can solve global problems with world-class technology from here in Rwanda,” Arun Shanmuganathan, Co-Founder told The New Times in an exclusive interview. Since establishing offices in Kigali, after Covid-19 restrictions were relaxed in August, Shanmuganathan a former lecturer at the African Leadership University (ALU) in the faculty of mathematics said the team has so far grown to 20 members from the initial six. “We want to create opportunities for people who want to solve knowledge problems and we want to continue attracting top talent.” According to him, the latest round of seed funding is an endorsement of Hence’s groundbreaking platform and demonstrates Hence’s potential to disrupt the market for professional provider services. Latest data indicates that the market for legal services is worth $800bn a year and the average Fortune 500 Company spends nearly $200m a year on lawyers alone – most of whom are selected on referrals and brand, rather than hard data. “Hence’s recommendations can ensure that companies are spending money on advisers on the back of evidence that they are appropriate for the task.” “It is a huge part of why we are excited to invest in Rwanda, because the vision of what we are trying to build is around the knowledge economy. Knowledge economy is the future, everyone using their brains to solve problems and Rwanda wants to be the heart of that.” He added, “Being a place where people will create knowledge jobs, through education, through financial services, we want to be part of catalyzing that.” Hence Technologies was validated after a successful pilot involving a U.S.-based investing firm and an insurance company in London. For its next stage of growth, it is targeting even larger corporations with bigger legal expenditure budgets and needs.
