The National Council for Science and Technology (NCST) and the University of Rwanda (UR) are stepping up efforts to attract the private sector in funding research and accelerating the translation of academic innovations into market-ready solutions.

With support from the Research and Innovation Systems for Africa (RISA) Fund, the two institutions convened a targeted engagement dinner with representatives of clusters and associations under the Private Sector Federation (PSF), aimed at exploring opportunities for fostering investment, partnerships and collaborations between academia-industry, and new business ventures that bring these innovations to market

The engagement meeting, held on Friday, December 12, 2025, brought together NCST and UR leadership, PSF cluster chairpersons, and researchers and innovators whose projects have demonstrated strong potential for commercialisation.

It provided a platform to showcase innovations emerging from funded research and to explore investment, partnership and collaboration opportunities to unlock the economic potential of tangible research outputs into viable businesses, through PSF’s commitment to driving private sector growth through homegrown innovations

Prof. Didas Kayihura Muganga, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Rwanda, said that strong collaboration between universities and the private sector is essential to strengthening research, innovation and local manufacturing.

"This engagement meeting helps the private sector better understand what universities can do to solve real-world challenges,” Prof. Kayihura said. "If we work together, we all benefit. We benefit by advancing science and research, while the private sector benefits from practical solutions and research findings that can be turned into viable products,” he said.

He noted that while universities enhance their scientific and research capacity, private companies gain access to market-oriented solutions developed through research. One of the major constraints facing research institutions, he added, remains limited funding, an area where private sector investment can play a transformative role.

According to Prof. Kayihura, increased private investment in research and innovation could unlock local manufacturing opportunities and reduce dependence on imports.

"Many products we currently import could be produced locally if the private sector worked closely with researchers,” he said. "The objective is to bridge the gap between research and industry, strengthen local capacity and reduce the country’s import burden. Not everything we import should be imported.”

He stressed that although UR may not yet have many fully commercialised products, it has the technical expertise and knowledge needed to respond to industry challenges. Early engagement with researchers, he said, allows companies to co-develop solutions tailored to local conditions, including machinery and technologies that could replace imports.

Dr. Eugene Mutimura, Executive Secretary of NCST, highlighted commercialisation as a critical driver of economic growth, job creation and societal impact.

"Commercialisation introduces innovative products and services to the market, contributing to company growth and overall economic development,” Dr. Mutimura said. "Sponsored research generates impact across key industries and helps address some of the most pressing challenges facing society.”

He added that commercialisation strengthens partnerships among research institutions, businesses and communities, while increasing opportunities for future funding and attracting investor interest.

"By exposing research organisations to business leaders and entrepreneurs, we create new opportunities for innovation, entrepreneurship and job creation,” he said.

Dr. Mutimura noted that many of the projects supported so far have the potential to support small-scale and local manufacturing, in line with Rwanda’s National Strategy for Transformation (NST2). He said financing models must be diversified, combining grants where appropriate, equity investment from strategic partners and collaboration with existing companies that can acquire intellectual property and scale production.

Alexis Nsengumuremyi, the leader of service cluster at Private Sector Federation (PSF) private sector should allocate a percentage of the profits to funding university research and commercialsize the outputs.

"Some researchers do research without assessing private sector needs. Research should be based on private sector needs. The research outputs should also be innovative to attract private sector funding and partnership,” he said.

He also committed to avail space for UR research outputs in different exhibitions.

Researchers whose work was showcased welcomed the initiative.

Prof. Marie Goreti Umuhozariho, a UR researcher funded by NCST, said her work on producing nutritious powder from soybean and sweet potatoes is ready for commercial partnerships.

"This support motivates researchers,” she said. "I hope private investors can partner with me to bring this product to the market.”

Another researcher, Delphin Muhizi, said his project on fertilisers and animal feed produced using black soldier flies has already been tested on maize and beans.

"Partnerships with private investors are key to commercialising these products,” he said.

Through the National Research and Innovation Fund (NRIF), the Government of Rwanda has so far invested nearly Rwf 8 billion to support 126 research and innovation projects across six priority areas: sustainable energy; food security and modern agriculture; life and health sciences; local production and value addition; digital services and lifestyles; and environment and climate resilience.

More than 20 of the funded projects have shown strong commercialisation potential, while several others have generated tangible outputs that require scaling up through start-ups to achieve market impact and job creation.

The University of Rwanda, through initiatives such as UR-UNIPOD, the Grid Innovation and Incubation Hub and the IoT Incubation Hub, has already generated innovations aimed at accelerating high-growth start-ups within Rwanda’s innovation ecosystem.

However, researchers and innovators continue to face challenges, including weak linkages with the private sector, misalignment between academic research and market needs, limited access to financing and barriers to market entry. Scaling up innovations often requires significant capital, which remains scarce.