Rwanda has never shied away from bold bets on the future. From pioneering digital IDs and advancing cashless payments, to using drones for life-saving medical deliveries and deploying smart classrooms across rural districts, the country has consistently shown that size is not destiny. With political will and a clear vision, Rwanda has proven that even a small nation can bypass traditional development pathways and set new standards for innovation in Africa. The World Bank has described Rwanda as a digital transformation leader on the continent. ALSO READ: Inside Rwanda’s plan to fast-track digital transformation by 2026 Yet, as the nation draws closer to its 2050 ambition of becoming a high-income, knowledge-driven economy, the cracks in the innovation ecosystem remain visible. The momentum of Rwanda’s digital transformation is slower than it should be. The pool of globally competitive digital talent is still small. Start-ups, often celebrated on international stages and in glossy brochures, struggle to secure patient capital that would allow them to refine their products or scale into new markets. Universities continue to produce bright graduates, but too few can compete immediately in the cut-throat global technology arena. Because local demand is still tied largely to government procurement, small and medium enterprises often find themselves dependent and existing only on subsistence, for most, instead of growing to create greater value for themselves and Rwanda. The domestic market, with its limited disposable incomes, cannot sustain dozens of scalable ventures. ALSO READ: Is Rwanda Innovation Fund relevant to local startups? These realities risk slowing the development momentum whose necessarily underlying foundations the government has worked hard to build. This is not a critique of the effort made so far. It is an honest recognition of the structural challenges that exist. And it is why Rwanda now needs to move deliberately in a new direction through what I call mandated corporate innovation, a national framework that would require corporations to deliberately channel part of their resources into digital innovation. ALSO READ: How far are we from having a Startup Act? Unlike start-ups, corporations already possess what the ecosystem lacks. They have the financial capacity to attract and retain the very best talent. They can invest in research and development without expecting immediate profits. They have credibility (goodwill) that can be leveraged to attract further investment, and they hold networks that can be used to carry products beyond Rwanda and into regional markets. If every Rwandan company with an annual turnover above Rwf150 million was required to launch at least one digital product with the potential to scale regionally, the innovation map of the country would be transformed significantly. Such a framework would involve companies pursuing innovation either internally or externally. Internal innovation would involve building new solutions within the company itself, which would take the form of improving existing products to compete in regional markets or creating entirely new offerings that open future revenue streams. ALSO READ: Can angel investing fix African startup funding woes? External innovation would involve partnerships with or investments in Rwandan-founded start-ups. Companies would commit at least Rwf30 million annually to promising startup ventures with either unique business models or technological breakthroughs, or both. These partnerships would be designed to ensure that ownership and jobs remain in the country, while allowing joint ventures with foreign firms only when the intended final product is to be owned by Rwandans and where at least 99% of employees are to be Rwandan nationals. The benefits of mandated corporate innovation would be significant. It would unlock resources that corporations already possess and direct them into projects that benefit the entire economy. It would bridge the capital gap that currently limits the growth of start-ups by ensuring that large firms provide the patient finances small businesses so desperately need. It would strengthen the country’s talent pipeline by giving students and young professionals the opportunity to learn on the job (working on real projects) demanding in creativity, technical skill, and global competitiveness. It would expand markets, since corporate backing would ensure that new products are designed with regional and global reach in mind rather than being limited to Rwanda’s small consumer base. It would generate foreign exchange by creating digital products that can compete regionally or internationally, and it would create new jobs across the digital technology space - from engineers and designers to business developers and strategists. Critics will argue that mandates distort free enterprise. But Rwanda’s greatest achievements have not been born of passive reliance on market forces. They have come from bold and strategic interventions. Universal health insurance, one of Africa’s most reliable power grids, and the world’s first national drone delivery network all stand as reminders that Rwanda succeeds when it makes deliberate choices and drives them with conviction. Mandated corporate innovation would be another such choice. It is true that safeguards would be necessary. There would need to be clear definitions of what qualifies as a product with regional scale potential. There would need to be independent monitoring to prevent tokenistic compliance. There would also need to be measures to ensure that start-ups are not simply absorbed into larger corporations but empowered to grow alongside them. These challenges, however, are not reasons to delay action. For corporations themselves, innovation is not merely a national duty. It is their best guarantee of continued relevance and antifragility in a world which rewards those who adapt and punishes those who stagnate. For Rwanda, it is the path toward translating political vision into measurable progress on the road to 2050. The ambition to become Africa’s tech hub is well within reach. The political will exists. What is missing is a mechanism that forces capital, talent, and corporate inertia to move in the same direction. Innovation cannot be left to chance. It must be required, nurtured, and scaled, because Rwanda’s future depends on it. The writer is corporate member services lead at the ICT chamber.
