In 2018, when they were pursuing their academic industrial attachment preparing to graduate from the University of Rwanda - College of Science and Technology (UR-CST), Claudine Niyonzima and Pacifique Shema, realised that at both entrances at the college and institution they were working for, different people were complaining about lost Identity Cards (IDs) while others had forgotten them at home which would sometimes limit them from entering. Besides, even those who had them were spending a long time on the queue waiting to be checked by the security guards and have their information recorded in a hard register. From that, they realised there was also an issue concerning the security of personal data for it could be easily seen by anyone and get stolen. Moreover, it was hard for institutions to track and retrieve recorded information by using a register for it was challenging for a security guard to peruse through several pages and gather, let’s say, the visiting history of a particular person. As software engineers, they had to find a tech-related solution for the issues: one that could help people spend less time, ensure safety for their information and never lose their IDs perhaps by leaving them for the security guards at the entrances. When they made research, they found out that possible alternative solutions were being offered by foreigners yet the country had innovators. And so, while doing their final project at college, they decided to develop a device named E-Visitors, a solution to automated attendances and data collection. After presenting it at school, they requested the university to give them permission to grow it as a business, and when they agreed, they registered their company, San Tech ltd, as their innovation for intellectual property rights. How the device works E-Visitors is composed of a software and a hardware machine that captures information from incoming and outgoing visitors, staff, students, employees, cards and analyses it to generate a real-time report. The system is proposed to be a combined technologies standalone machine that captures, reads, analyses and displays the needed information on the device’s screen. According to Claudine Niyonzima, who is the Chief Operating Officer at San Tech Ltd, E-visitors system has ability to perform different functionalities including visitor management, a way by which the client chooses to use visitor’s national ID or driving license, and phone number to register, Employees Management where the client is able to manage attendance of casual, contractor and permanent staff’s according to their statuses, Equipment Monitoring Management where the client uses the system to record and track equipment in and out at the entrance as well as Stock Management where the system enables the client to monitor the products in stock and report those which were sold out. She declared that it can also be used in event management to check and validate an event ticket for an attendee by taking information from the event organising database, and generating a readable ticket in order to avoid tickets’ forging and help event managers know the number of people who have attended the event. Achievements, challenges and plans In 2019, National Industrial Research and Development Agency (NIRDA) organised Innovate for Industry Hackathon which attracted young innovators where San Tech with their “E-Visitors” project emerged as a winner alongside five other start-ups. The institution supported them in product improvement through incubation and later got their product on the market. According to Dr. Christian Sekomo Birame, Director General of NIRDA, the institution plans to work with San Tech on the improvement and development of the second version of the device. He declared that they chose to support it because it aligns with NIRDAs mission to enable a generation of industrial innovators to become competitive through technology monitoring, acquisition, development and transfer and applied research. Apart from that recognition, the project was awarded through AMI Resilience prize organised by the AMI Rwanda and the Youth Challenge Programme, organised by the Ministry of Youth and Culture with Generation Unlimited. It is currently being used by seven organisations including NIRDA, AOG (Acts of Gratitude), CIMERWA PLC, FABLAB Rwanda, ICT Innovation Centre - Kicukiro IPRC, KIRA, BDC (Benefactor David Clinic, Real Valuation Corporation Ltd as well as Glowac Ltd. According to Niyonzima, since they started, the product boosted their brand as a start-up, gave them clients, helped the company develop into a tech and innovation hub where they train other young innovators and have employed over 10 people hence contributing to the development of the country. She revealed that their challenge is that the creation of E-Visitors’ hardware requires large capital which affects their production. Currently, a client pays between Rwf75,000 to Rwf190,000 to acquire the device, depending on the features they have chosen. Niyonzima said the company is planning to approach more industries, event managers and private institutions who are in need of the solution as they scale up, adding that they are also upgrading the device so that it can work without a computer and use biometric card. Users speak out According to Birame, with E-Visitors, the institution no longer uses manual systems to register visitors or clients. “The device records all the needed information by just swapping an ID around it and that is done in a few seconds. It is faster and more efficient. It helps in time management and ensures that no one has to leave their IDs or other documents at the reception and end up forgetting them. It brings innovation from local young innovators and is a boost to Made in Rwanda Policy, he said. Gaudence Murekatete, a security guard at CIMERWA, who also uses the device, said it helps her do the work quicker and easier. “Before they brought it, we would write one’s information such as name, phone, ID number, where they are going and who they are going to meet and it would take a long time. But now we just scan the ID or a driving licence and we are good to go,” she said. “When we find out that someone trying to enter the industry is new, we ask them so that we can make orientation, and when they have a laptop, we can also scan its code and register it so that we recognise it when they return.”
