The tech sector is booming in most African countries. To improve its impact on the continent, two countries have decided to join forces and conquer other markets. 

Rwandan technology park kLab and Gabon Digital Incubation Company (SING S.A) plan to develop an exchange program. For that purpose, last Wednesday (July 13), kLab’s general manager Yeetah Kamikazi (photo, right) and Yannick Ebibie Nze (photo, left), CEO of SING S.A, signed a partnership agreement.  The exchange program aims to support the two countries’ startup ecosystem and financing sources to quickly achieve conclusive results. 

Under the terms of the agreement, SING S.A. (which has already incubated 53 startups, including eight with tremendous growth) will facilitate the exchange program development. 

“We can build on the results achieved by kLab as a non-profit organization in Rwanda over the past few years. In Gabon, we have a different model [Ed. note: SING S.A is a for-profit organization] and I believe it will be great for kLab to also find ways to secure additional financing outside traditional sources like the government and international partners,” explained Yannick Ebibie Nze.

For Yeetah Kamikazi, the Gabonese market is a prospective market for Rwandan startups, given the small size of her local market. She also added that Gabon needs Rwanda’s expertise in the e-transport and e-governance sectors. 

In Rwanda, the government is committed to making the country an African IT hub. Also, for years now, Kigali has been the host of the tech hubs of major international firms. In December 2021, coworking space and investment fund Norrsken Foundation launched an entrepreneurship hub in Kigali, to welcome 1,000 entrepreneurs by the end of 2022.  To date, the country’s startups have raised US$23 million, including US$17 million in 2021. 

Adoni Conrad Quenum