Rwanda aims to harness the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare, agriculture, and public services, Minister of ICT and Innovation, Paula Ingabire said at the 2025 Paris AI Action Summit. This will be done through collaboration with the private sector to build essential data infrastructure and investing in AI talent development, Ingabire said on Monday, February 10, during a panel discussion that featured ministers of ICT, digital technology and innovation from Nigeria, Togo and Ghana. ALSO READ: Davos: Minister Ingabire urges leaders to help bridge gaps in AI access Ingabire noted that Rwanda has been working with the private sector especially startups to develop a Kinyarwanda language model to enable seamless AI accessibility. “Within a space of about eight months, they were able to train it from an accuracy of about 16 per cent to about 86 per cent,” she said. Ingabire emphasized that the country’s AI policy prioritizes industries which would benefit much from advanced technology. These industries include healthcare, agriculture, and public services. Ingabire pointed out that AI would be used to support Rwandan farmers through early warning systems, satellite imagery, and soil data analysis. “One of the applications we're looking at is helping farmers with early warning systems, and enabling them to use satellite data imagery, soil information,” she noted. “But that has to be in a language that they understand.” Ingabire stressed that once farmers are able to receive information in the language they understand, it would then be easy to understand the insights that come out of the tool and what it means for their farming practices. Ingabire also mentioned an AI-powered tool that assists community health workers in diagnosing and providing accurate medical interventions and which has led to improved efficiency. Once you equip healthcare workers with this tool, you minimize the number of referrals that patients need before they get to the main hospital, the minister said. She also highlighted the importance of developing AI talent as part of Rwanda’s National AI Policy. “When you look at our policy and strategy, talent makes up maybe 60 per cent of what we're focusing on,” she noted. “We will not be able to build homegrown solutions that respond to local challenges if we don't have a talented AI ecosystem, people that understand how to build these models, people that are able to leverage these tools and are out there to create the solutions,” Ingabire said. The AI Action Summit, which concluded on Tuesday, brought together people from different sectors and positions including heads of state, international organizations, and members of civil society.
