Kigali, Rwanda — Rwanda is accelerating its journey to become a regional powerhouse for digital entrepreneurship with a flagship initiative aimed at empowering tech startups and entrepreneurship support organizations (ESOs). With over Rwf700 million allocated in the 2025/26 fiscal year, the project is positioned to transform the nation’s innovation landscape, offering both funding and strategic guidance to ambitious tech innovators.
The initiative, officially titled “Positioning Rwanda as a Regional Digital Entrepreneurship Hub”, is part of the broader $200 million Rwanda Digital Acceleration Project, co-financed by the World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Since its inception in 2021, the project has laid the groundwork through feasibility studies, policy development, and early-stage funding mechanisms. By the end of 2026, it aims to establish Rwanda as a leading center for digital innovation in Africa.
Under this initiative, ESOs receive performance-based grants across three main tracks: capability enhancement, strategic expansion, and ecosystem collaboration. These grants help incubators and accelerators improve services, scale operations, and foster cooperation across Rwanda’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Early-stage startups benefit through Hanga Venture Ignite, which offers tiered funding of up to $100,000 for ventures with a validated Minimum Viable Product (MVP), while smaller, ideation-stage startups can access up to $50,000 to turn ideas into tangible products.
According to Esther Kunda, Director General of Innovation and Emerging Technologies at the Ministry of ICT and Innovation, the project aligns with Rwanda’s Vision 2050 goals of becoming a high-income, innovation-driven economy. “Such rapid structural transformation requires innovation as a key driver and enabler of growth,” Kunda said.
Local tech entrepreneurs are already seeing the impact. Cedrick Mupenzi, CEO of Sinc Today a startup revolutionizing event management across Africa described the funding as “timely and transformative.” He explained that support from the initiative is enabling product enhancements, scaling efforts, and preparing for regional expansion. “By reducing barriers to early-stage funding, the project allows more entrepreneurs to move beyond ideation to building real solutions,” Mupenzi noted.
The digital hub project is expected to boost Rwanda’s innovation ecosystem by increasing the number of high-growth startups, improving ESO support quality, expanding access to finance, and attracting private sector investment. It also targets inclusive entrepreneurship, with a focus on women and youth, and aims to create new jobs in the technology sector. To date, six ESOs and over 50 startups have received support, with more expected in the coming fiscal year.
Rwanda’s digital hub initiative represents a bold step toward establishing the country as a continental leader in tech innovation. By combining strategic funding, capacity-building, and ecosystem collaboration, the project offers startups a clear path to growth, scalability, and regional competitiveness. For entrepreneurs and investors alike, Rwanda is fast emerging as a hub where ideas meet opportunity.