RUSAGARA MUVUNANKIKO Valens
Rwanda and Israel are strengthening cooperation to help local creative businesses turn talent, technology and intellectual property into sustainable sources of income, as the two countries seek to expand opportunities for young entrepreneurs in the creative economy.
The initiative was highlighted during the closing event of the first Rwanda–Israel Creative Industries & Technology Week, held on Thursday, November 5, 2026, at Norrsken House in Kigali, bringing together government officials, technology entrepreneurs, international experts and stakeholders in the creative sector.
Israeli Ambassador to Rwanda, Einat Weiss, said the partnership reflects Israel’s commitment to supporting Rwanda’s ambition to become a leader in technology and innovation in Africa and globally.
She explained that the initiative focuses on sharing practical knowledge and business experience to help young entrepreneurs and small businesses generate greater economic value from their ideas and activities.
“We are trying to help with the vision of the President to monetise small businesses and young people, to make more money from what they are actually doing. For that, we thought we could do some knowledge sharing,” Weiss said.
She noted that the programme’s approach this year was to work with startups that had already developed products and demonstrated their potential, rather than focusing mainly on businesses at the idea stage.
“This time, we took startups who already have some work that they’ve done. They already have some proof of concept, and we scale them up. So I would say it’s Innovation Week 2,” she said.
The Ambassador also expressed hope that some of the participating businesses could grow into major companies capable of attracting significant investment and competing internationally.
Beyond the training programme, she highlighted the importance of expanding access to computers, STEM education and robotics classes, particularly for young people living outside Kigali.
According to Weiss, improving access to technology, professional networks and funding opportunities can enable young people across the country to develop ideas into businesses that generate income.
Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Youth and Arts (MoYA), Parfait Ishungure, said the initiative addresses an important question about how Rwanda can ensure that its creative talent becomes a sustainable source of income for creators and the businesses supporting them.
“How do we ensure that Rwanda’s creative talent becomes a sustainable source of income for those who create and for the businesses that support them?” Ishungure asked.
He explained that participating platforms had spent four days strengthening their business models, examining intellectual property obligations and preparing business pitches to present to potential investors and partners.
Ishungure described the creative economy as an important pillar of Rwanda’s transformation agenda under the National Strategy for Transformation 2 (NST2).
He also thanked the Embassy of Israel, training partner Impact360, the ICT Chamber and other partners for supporting the programme and sharing expertise with local entrepreneurs.
The Rwanda–Israel Creative Industries & Technology Week was designed to address challenges affecting the commercial growth of Rwanda’s creative industries, including limited access to monetisation platforms, gaps in business and digital skills, payment challenges and difficulties in protecting intellectual property.
The initiative brought together platforms working across music, events, film, fashion, publishing and e-commerce to strengthen their business models, improve regulatory compliance and explore investment opportunities.
According to the Ministry of Youth and Arts, Rwanda’s creative industries employed an estimated 174,387 people and contributed 5.1% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), equivalent to RWF 1,344 billion, in 2023.
At the end of the competition, DAJAH Music Group emerged as the overall winner, receiving a $5,000 award, while SINC EVENT secured $3,000.
DAJAH Music Group is a music publishing and rights administration company that helps songwriters, composers, artists, publishers, record labels and catalogue owners protect, administer and monetise their music rights worldwide.
Hervé Muvunyi, one of the company’s co-founders, said the award would provide an important boost to the company’s efforts to strengthen its services and expand opportunities for music creators.
“The $5,000 award is an important boost for our journey. It will help us strengthen our operations, improve our services and expand our efforts to ensure that music creators can protect their rights and earn from the work they produce,” Muvunyi said.
He added that the company’s ambition is to help music creators benefit financially from their intellectual property beyond the initial release of their work.
SINC EVENT, which received $3,000, is an event discovery, ticketing and management platform designed to connect event organisers with audiences.
The platform helps users discover events and access tickets while providing organisers with tools to manage and promote their activities.
Bazilia Maeva Rusamaza, one of the company’s co-founders, said the recognition was an important milestone for the business and would support its next stage of growth.
“Winning this award is a great encouragement for our team. It shows that the solution we are building has potential. We intend to use the funding to improve our platform, strengthen our services and reach more event organisers and users,” Rusamaza said.
She added that the company intends to expand its reach and build partnerships that will help more people discover and participate in events through its platform.
The recognition of the two companies highlights the potential of Rwanda’s homegrown technology businesses to create new commercial opportunities across the creative economy, while strengthening the country’s ambition to make creativity, innovation and intellectual property important drivers of economic growth.
Muhire Obed
