Tech In The Hills: How Rwanda Is Elevating Its Digital Future

From pioneering mobile money adoption to streamlining public services, the tiny, hilly East African nation of Rwanda is taking technological transformation to newer heights. 

Rwanda believes in the power of technology to connect people and foster real transformation, said President Paul Kagame in his address at the Mobile World Congress (MWC), Africa’s premier connectivity event hosted in the nation’s capital, Kigali, in October.   

For years, the ‘land of a thousand hills’ has been driving the conversation around digital inclusion. Rwanda has consistently made technology and innovation central to its strategy for driving economic growth, according to a World Economic Forum report. 

“For the last 28 years, Rwanda has deliberately explored every avenue available to deliver national transformation through economic growth. Technology and innovation have been at the heart of our transformation. We expect this to become an even greater driver of our economic development in the coming years,” the 2022 report read.  

Kagame echoed this sentiment at the MWC: “In just a few years, Africa has gone from limited connectivity to a mobile-driven economy. Broadband and smartphones have become implements of daily life, advancing commerce, education, finance, and other key sectors.” 

An example of this progress is the rise of mobile money in Rwanda. Mobile money, digital financial services that allow users to store, send, and receive funds via mobile phones without traditional bank accounts, has seen widespread adoption across Africa. This success stems from strong government support for digital inclusion and robust partnerships between telecom operators and banks. 

 In spite of these strides, 64% of Africa’s population remains digitally excluded. According to a 2025 Afrobarometer report, the continent’s digital economy remains far smaller than those of advanced economies. The concept of a digital economy sits within the broader “digitalized economy”, which refers to how Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) permeate all economic sectors.  

Digital exclusion goes beyond limited internet access. It includes barriers such as inadequate access to devices, unreliable electricity, and insufficient digital skills, all of which hinder full participation in the digital economy. Afrobarometer further states that roughly 60% of Africans do not use the internet and 24% rely solely on basic mobile phones. 

An analysis by Access to Finance Rwanda shows that in 2020, around 66% of total adult Rwandan population (7.1 million) were digitally included, up from 46% in 2016. This progress has been driven mainly by mobile money access and usage (91%) as well as use of bank electronic services (9%). Mobile money penetration alone rose from 39% in 2016 to 60% in 2020.  

“Mobile money is a good example of the ,” Kagame said. “What began as a solution for those excluded from formal banking has grown into a global model of financial inclusion. It has empowered small businesses and women entrepreneurs while linking rural communities to the broader economy. This initiative proves that innovation does not belong to one part of the world alone—it can emerge anywhere, from anyone, given the chance. Now, new technologies are taking us even further ahead.” 

In November, mobile telecommunications company MTN Rwanda announced that it had surpassed 8 million mobile subscribers, reflecting mobile money’s growing contribution to Rwanda’s digital transformation. The company reported that mobile subscribers grew by 6.9% to 8.1 million, while active data subscribers increased by 7.5% to 2.5 million. Active MoMo (mobile money) users rose by 12.2% to 5.8 million, supported by a growing merchant network which reached 578,000 by the end of the quarter to September. 

“As a strategic partner in Rwanda’s digital transformation journey, we remain focused on expanding access to connectivity, accelerating digital inclusion, and enabling every Rwandan to benefit from the opportunities of the digital economy,” MTN Rwanda CEO Monzer Ali says in the statement. 

However, the Technology Needs Assessment (TNA) for Rwanda, released by the United Nations’ Technology Bank, notes that the country’s development strategy must broaden its view of technology beyond the realm of ICTs. While the report acknowledges Rwanda’s progress in ICT adoption and integration, it argues that technologies driving growth in sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing extend far beyond ICTs. To fully harness the potential of advanced and emerging technologies, Rwanda must expand its technological focus to include innovations across industries, a shift that would help accelerate productivity and national development. 

The UN report notes that sector-specific policies and strategic interventions on technology development, adaptation, and utilization are essential if Rwanda is to achieve its vision of becoming an upper middle-income country by 2035 and high-income country by 2050. 

Policies aligned with this vision are already being implemented to help businesses grow. This year, Rwanda introduced 13 broad business reforms designed to improve the investment climate, enhance the ease of doing business, and accelerate private sector growth. Among these is the introduction of an online case management system at the Kigali International Arbitration Center (KIAC), a reform that also reflects the country’s commitment to deepening digital inclusion.  

Victor Mugabe, Secretary General at the KIAC, says the case management system, which digitizes and streamlines arbitration services, is intended to enhance efficiency, improve transparency, and reduce costs by eliminating the need for physical documents. 

“We are driving remarkable innovation within arbitration services,” Mugabe tells FORBES AFRICA. “We are expecting the system to contribute to attracting the international world, with more global cases being handled in Rwanda, because it guarantees transparency and cost-efficiency.”  

Janis Just, the Head of Offshore Operations at TestSolutions Rwanda, says the country is seen as a hub of innovation in Africa due to its rapid digitalization. “I believe that particularly in East Africa and here in Rwanda, there’s a tendency for people, even within Africa, to speak of the continent as one entity,” Just says. “But Africa is made up of many countries, each with its own strengths. Looking specifically at Rwanda, this country takes digitalization and the future of IT very seriously. For example, in Germany, it can take up to eight weeks to receive a new passport. You have to make an appointment, go in person, and then wait. In Rwanda, the process takes just two hours. This clearly shows that Rwanda is, in many ways, ahead of Europe.”  

President Kagame affirms this progress. “In Rwanda, we see this journey as part of our larger vision to build a knowledge-based economy,” he says. “We are integrating artificial intelligence into our planning, prioritizing research and human capital development to boost productivity and improve public service delivery. While the challenges Africa faces are significant, they also offer great growth potential. If we collaborate, governments, the private sector and other partners should harmonize policies and create the right environment for innovation.”