Three Rwandan creative-tech platforms have won a combined $10,000 in grants after emerging top in a competition organised as part of the first Rwanda–Israel Creative Industries & Technology Week. The competition was held at Norrsken House Kigali on Thursday, November 5, bringing together nine domestic creative-tech platforms operating in music, events, film, publishing, fashion and e-commerce. DAJAH Group, operating as DAJAH Tunes, emerged the winner, taking home $5,000, while Sinc Events finished second with $3,000. Imagine We Creators came third, receiving $2,000. ALSO READ: Six startups share Rwf60m in Imbuto-backed funding The platforms pitched their business ideas before a six-member panel of judges, who assessed them on their business models, market potential, traction, regulatory compliance, intellectual property and growth prospects. Sandrine Umutoni, Minister of State for Youth and Arts, said the creative economy was becoming an important pillar of the country's transformation under Vision 2050 and the second National Strategy for Transformation (NST2). “Internationally, the creative economy is being reshaped by streaming, digital distribution and intellectual property,” she said. “To compete, our platforms must meet international standards of trust, data protection and rights management, and connect to global networks of expertise and capital.” She challenged participating founders to demonstrate how their platforms could generate income for creatives while building sustainable businesses. Tell us clearly what problem you solve, who pays you, how you treat the creators who give your platform its value, and what you need to grow, she said. The competition marked the conclusion of a week-long initiative organised by the Ministry of Youth and Arts in partnership with the Embassy of Israel in Rwanda, alongside other partners. ALSO READ: How Rwanda’s startups are overcoming barriers to grow During the programme, participating platforms received training and technical support to strengthen their business models, understand regulatory and intellectual property requirements, improve investment readiness and explore ways of monetising creative work. The initiative seeks to address challenges facing Rwanda's creative industries, including limited access to monetisation platforms, digital and business capacity gaps, payment challenges and limited infrastructure for local platforms to expand. According to the Ministry of Youth and Arts, the creative industries employed an estimated 174,387 people and contributed 5.1 per cent of Rwanda's GDP, equivalent to Rwf1,344 billion, in 2023.
