Candy Basomingera, the former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Sports, has been appointed Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Development at the AI Skills and Compute Africa Foundation (AISCA Foundation), a Kigali-based initiative working to expand access to artificial intelligence skills and computing resources across Africa. The foundation announced her appointment on Monday, September 14, alongside that of Scovia Achan, who joined as a machine learning engineer. ALSO READ: Rwanda to become hub for AI research in Africa Basomingera will lead the foundation’s regional stakeholder initiatives and support the operationalisation of its AISCA Houses and Studios, according to the announcement. Her responsibilities will include strengthening partnerships and connections aimed at helping African talent access the resources and opportunities needed to develop AI solutions. The foundation said Basomingera brings extensive experience in government, international relations and business development. ALSO READ: Inside the newly approved National AI Agency Basomingera served as Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Sports from July 2025 to July 2026. Before joining the Ministry of Sports, Basomingera had served as Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Rwanda Convention Bureau (RCB). Expanding Africa’s AI ecosystem AISCA Foundation officially launched its headquarters in Kigali on May 14, 2026, with the objective of addressing the continent’s shortage of computing infrastructure and AI skills. It's Board of Trustees is chaired by former Minister of Agriculture Agnes Kalibata. The foundation says it seeks to bring together skills development, sovereign computing, research and data to create structured pathways for young people to participate in Africa’s growing AI value chain. Through its programmes, AISCA aims to provide training, technical tools and other support to young innovators developing AI-powered applications to address real-world challenges. The foundation has set targets of supporting 25,000 projects, 10,000 researchers and equipping 1.5 million people with AI-related skills. It also aims to contribute to the creation of up to one million jobs by 2036. Women and young people are among the groups the initiative has identified as priorities in its efforts to expand participation in the AI ecosystem. AISCA is supported by partners including Cassava Technologies, the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences and DC Labs.
