By J. Christian IHIRWE
Rwanda has unveiled an ambitious five-year national strategy aimed at transforming the country into a regional fintech hub, targeting the creation of 7,500 new jobs and attracting $200 million (approximately Rwf234 billion) in investments by 2029.
The plan is designed to boost fintech adoption to 80 percent—almost double the current level—while expanding the number of fintech firms operating in the country by at least 30 percent. It also seeks to foster the development of innovative digital financial solutions to drive greater financial inclusion.
Paula Ingabire Musoni, Minister of ICT and Innovation, emphasized that the strategy is central to the country’s broader push toward digital economic transformation.
“This is more than a policy—it’s a declaration of our intent to establish Rwanda as one of Africa’s foremost fintech destinations,” she stated.
Since 2014, Rwanda’s fintech sector has grown from just three registered firms to more than 75 active companies, serving over three million users across the country. This rapid expansion has supported a national financial inclusion rate that reached 96 percent by the end of 2024.
A cornerstone of the new strategy is Rwanda’s regulatory sandbox, launched in 2022 by the National Bank of Rwanda. The sandbox provides a supervised environment for fintech companies to pilot emerging solutions without facing the full weight of regulatory compliance at the outset.
Seventeen companies have already been accepted into the sandbox, which prioritizes innovation, market readiness, and strong risk management.
Benjamin Karenzi, CEO of IT Consortium Rwanda and founder of Chango—a platform reimagining group savings and investment—applauded the sandbox model as a key enabler of responsible innovation.
“It’s an essential bridge between ideation and commercialization,” he said. “It helps regulators understand new technologies while ensuring users are protected.”
Rwanda is among 16 African nations to operate such a sandbox, a signal of its proactive regulatory approach to digital finance.
In addition to addressing current gaps, the strategy incorporates emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence to support the development of future-facing fintech solutions in payments, lending, and savings.
A recent Africa Fintech Landscape 2024 report praised Rwanda’s fintech trajectory, noting that the country has maintained strong momentum even as East Africa’s share of regional fintech funding dropped significantly—from 68 percent in 2023 to 12 percent in 2024.
“Rwanda’s alignment of fintech policy with national development goals is a model worth emulating,” the report stated.
Norbert Haguma, Country Manager at NALA Payments and Chair of the Rwanda Blockchain Association, described the $200 million investment goal as attainable, considering the global fintech space attracts more than $200 billion annually.
He also pointed to the potential of blockchain and cryptocurrency as the fastest-growing segments, particularly as Rwanda clarifies its regulatory stance and invests in talent development.
“Payments and digital wallets are likely to lead the charge locally, but growth in one area tends to spark expansion in others. These ecosystems are deeply interdependent,” Haguma noted.
To attract global interest and collaboration, Rwanda Finance Limited (RFL) has taken an active role in executing the strategy. In partnership with Singapore, the government has launched an annual Inclusive Fintech Forum. This event convenes government officials, entrepreneurs, investors, and corporate leaders to discuss and design policies and partnerships that enhance inclusive finance.
Despite fragmented solutions across the region, RFL believes that the tools to solve financial inclusion already exist. What remains is stitching them together through innovation, investment, and collaboration.
As Rwanda builds momentum, its fintech blueprint could serve as a playbook for other African countries looking to leverage digital finance to achieve inclusive and sustainable growth.
