Innovate Rwanda: National Digital Innovation Ecosystem Platform

Innovation methods

Data sources

Disclaimer:

Please be aware that the content herein has not been peer reviewed. It consists of personal reflections, insights, and learnings of the contributor(s). It may not be exhaustive, nor does it aim to be authoritative knowledge.

Title

Please provide a name for your action learning plan.

Innovate Rwanda: National Digital Innovation Ecosystem Platform

Challenge statement

Challenge type: If you are working on multiple challenges, please indicate if this is your "big bet" or "exploratory" challenge. Please note: we ask you to only submit a maximum of 3 challenges - 1x Big Bet, 2x Exploratory. Each challenge must be submitted individually.

BIG BET

Challenge statement: What is your challenge? (Please answer in specific terms: "Our challenge is that...”.)

Our challenge is that Rwanda's innovation ecosystem lacks a centralized, reliable, and accessible digital infrastructure to showcase innovations, connect stakeholders, and enable evidence-based decision-making. Innovation data is fragmented across multiple institutions, making it difficult for innovators to access resources, support structures, and coordinated services. Limited visibility affects access to markets, investors, and partners, while collaboration between researchers, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and ecosystem enablers remains constrained, ultimately hindering Rwanda's Vision 2050 ambition to become Africa's leading technology hub.

Background: What is the history of your challenge? What is causing or driving it? Who is involved? How does the current situation look like? What undesired effects does it produce?

History & Causes Rwanda has built a strong innovation ecosystem over the past decade, but it evolved in a fragmented manner with limited coordination. Causes include institutional fragmentation (initiatives scattered across multiple organizations), information asymmetry (limited awareness of resources), coordination gaps (duplicative programs), and visibility constraints (reduced international exposure). Key Stakeholders MINICT (policy leadership), RDB (investment promotion), innovation hubs and accelerators, entrepreneurs and innovators, investors, universities, development partners (UNDP, GIZ), and private sector corporations. Undesired Effects Reduced startup survival rates, lower investment attraction, inefficient resource allocation, weakened ecosystem collaboration, talent drain, reduced global competitiveness, and geographic/gender disparities in innovation participation.

Quantitative evidence: What (official) data sources do you have on this challenge that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge? You can add text, a link, or a picture.

• 680+ active innovation firms identified • 146,988 total employees in Rwanda-based startups • $209.48M cumulative funding raised • 144 total funding rounds recorded • 10+ innovation hubs actively operating • Data scattered across 5+ platforms with 30-40% duplication • 3-5 days required to manually compile ecosystem reports Data Sources: MINICT databases, RDB business registration, innovation hub portfolios, University Innovation Pod data, investor networks, development partner programs, existing platforms (Dealroom, Accelerator App, Startup Central, Ihuzo), direct stakeholder submissions, and ecosystem reports.

Qualitative evidence: What weak signals have you recently spotted that characterizes its urgency? Please provide qualitative information that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge. You can add text, a link, or a picture.

Value proposition: What added value or unique value proposition is your Accelerator Lab bringing to solving this challenge? Why is it your Lab that needs to work on this challenge and not other actors within UNDP, other stakeholders in the country respectively? Why is it worth investing resources to this challenge?

Why UNDP Accelerator Lab? Convening Power: UNDP's trusted neutral position enables multi-stakeholder collaboration across government, private sector, and civil society Innovation Systems Expertise: Access to global network of 91 Accelerator Labs with specialized knowledge in collective intelligence, human-centered design, and systems thinking Strategic Alignment: Direct support to Vision 2050 and NST2, complementing other UNDP initiatives (University Innovation Pods, Timbuktoo HealthTech Hub) Resources: Funding capacity, international technical expertise, and long-term commitment beyond project completion Learning Approach: Experimentation methodology enabling adaptive implementation and continuous improvement

Short “tweet” summary: We would like to tweet what you are working on, can you summarize your challenge in a maximum of 280 characters?

UNDP Rwanda Accelerator Lab developed Innovate Rwanda. a national digital platform centralizing innovation data, connecting 680+ startups with investors and ESOs, enabling evidence-based policy, and positioning Rwanda as Africa's leading tech hub aligned with Vision 2050.

Challenge classification

Partners

Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.

Please state the name of the partner:

Partner 1: Ministry of ICT and Innovation (MINICT) Sector: Government & Related New Partner? No Collaboration: Primary project owner providing strategic direction, ensuring alignment with national innovation policy and Vision 2050, leading stakeholder coordination, and assuming long-term ownership. Designated 4 technical focal points throughout development. Partner 2: TechClick Ltd Sector: Private Sector New Partner? Yes Collaboration: Technical implementing partner responsible for platform development using agile methodology. Led requirements analysis, system architecture, UI/UX, implementation, API integrations, testing, and knowledge transfer over 11 months. Partner 3: Rwanda Development Board (RDB) Sector: Government & Related New Partner? No Collaboration: Strategic direction, technical oversight, and quality assurance from investment/business development perspective. Ensures platform meets investor and enterprise needs. Partner 4: Systemic Innovation (Technical Advisor) Sector: Private Sector / Academia New Partner? Yes Collaboration: Strategic technical advisory bringing innovation systems expertise and international best practices. Participated in governance, reviewed deliverables, ensured platform supports systems-level change. Partner 5: Innovation Hubs and ESO Network Sector: Private Sector / Civil Society New Partner? No Collaboration: Key stakeholders and users providing requirements input, testing functionalities, contributing initial data, and driving platform adoption among innovators.

What sector does our partner belong to?

Government (&related)

Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.

Collaboration: Primary project owner providing strategic direction, ensuring alignment with national innovation policy and Vision 2050, leading stakeholder coordination, and assuming long-term ownership. Designated 4 technical focal points throughout development.

Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?

Learning questions

Learning question: What is your learning question for this challenge? What do you need to know or understand to work on your challenge statement?

Learning Question How can a centralized digital platform effectively coordinate a fragmented innovation ecosystem while maintaining data quality, stakeholder engagement, and long-term sustainability beyond initial donor support? What governance, technical, and operational models best enable such platforms to evolve with ecosystem needs and remain relevant as digitalization accelerates? Learning Cycle Stages Understanding the innovation ecosystem landscape, mapping stakeholders, identifying data fragmentation challenges Explore: Testing different platform design approaches, stakeholder consultation methods, and integration strategies Test: Implementing platform features iteratively, conducting user acceptance testing, gathering feedback through agile sprints Grow: Transitioning to government ownership, building capacity for sustainable operations, planning for scale and replication

To what stage(s) in the learning cycle does your learning question relate?

Sense, Explore, Test, Grow

Usage of methods: Relating to your choice above, how will you use your methods & tools for this learning question? What value do these add in answering your learning question?

1. Human-Centered Design (HCD) Ensured platform development centered on actual user needs through iterative research, persona development, and usability testing with entrepreneurs, investors, ESOs, and policymakers. Prevented building technology for technology's sake. 2. Agile Software Development Enabled flexibility to adapt to evolving stakeholder needs while maintaining delivery timelines. Breaking development into sprints with regular reviews allowed course corrections and maintained stakeholder engagement. 3. Collective Intelligence / Stakeholder Co-Creation Multi-stakeholder collaboration ensured platform design reflected diverse ecosystem perspectives and created shared ownership, increasing adoption likelihood and sustainability. 4. Systems Mapping and Analysis Understanding innovation ecosystem as complex adaptive system informed platform architecture, revealed interdependencies, and highlighted how centralized data infrastructure could catalyze broader coordination. 5. Data Visualization and Analytics Transforming raw ecosystem data into accessible visualizations makes insights actionable for different audiences—enabling policymakers, investors, entrepreneurs, and ESOs to make evidence-based decisions.

Existing data gaps: Relating to your choice above, what existing gaps in data or information do these new sources of data addressing? What value do these add in answering your learning question?

Comprehensive Ecosystem Census: No single authoritative source existed. Platform creates first comprehensive, deduplicated national registry enabling accurate ecosystem sizing and trend analysis. Real-Time Ecosystem Dynamics: Reports relied on manual compilation taking days/weeks. Platform provides continuously updated data enabling rapid response to emerging trends. Startup Journey Tracking: Difficult to track individual progression from ideation through scaling. Platform maintains continuity across lifecycle stages. Investor-Startup Matching: Limited visibility of opportunities. Searchable directories enable efficient matching based on sector, stage, ticket size, and geography. Geographic and Sectoral Gaps: Unclear where activity concentrated. Visualization tools reveal distribution, helping target interventions and capitalize on strengths. Gender and Inclusion Metrics: Limited data on women-led startups and youth entrepreneurs. Disaggregated data enables monitoring diversity and assessing program reach. Policy Evidence Base: Decisions often based on anecdotal evidence. Rich dataset supports rigorous policy analysis and evidence-based strategy development.

Closing

Early leads to grow: Think about the possible grow phase for this challenge - who might benefit from your work on this challenge or who might be the champions in your country that you should inform or collaborate with early on to help you grow this challenge?

This action learning plan documents the Innovate Rwanda Platform development journey from challenge identification through implementation to sustainable operations. The platform represents a systems-level intervention addressing fragmentation in Rwanda's innovation ecosystem, demonstrating how digital infrastructure can catalyze coordination, visibility, and evidence-based decision-making. Key lessons include the critical importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration, the value of agile methodology for complex projects, the need for strong government ownership from inception, and the power of data visualization in making ecosystem insights actionable. The platform's success demonstrates that with appropriate convening power, technical expertise, and long-term commitment, digital platforms can effectively coordinate fragmented innovation ecosystems. As the platform transitions to full government ownership and enters its growth phase, sustained stakeholder engagement, continuous capacity building, and strategic evolution will be critical to realizing its full potential as a catalyst for Rwanda's vision of becoming Africa's leading innovation hub.

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Action plan