Rwandan ICT Entrepreneur Wins $20,000 Award continental Stage
- Inkomoko  and  AEC present the Outstanding Rwandan Entrepreneur   Award

President Paul Kagame was guest at the African  Leadership  Network (ALN)  Forum in Kigali as it came to close November 7th 2014
Tech pioneer  Clement Uwajeneza was awarded $20,000 on Thursday night after winning the Outstanding              Rwandan Entrepreneur  Award  onstage in front  of hundreds  of  African business leaders at the African  Leadership     Network  awards gala in Kigali.
The award, sponsored by Inkomoko Business Development and the African Entrepreneur Collective,  marked  the  conclusion of  a nationwide  search  to identify  an exceptional young  entrepreneur  who had not  only  succeeded in   business,but also contributed  meaningfully  to Rwanda’s  development.
“This  award  gives  me huge motivation to continuously reinvent myself and my business towards even greater     achievements,†said  Clement Uwajeneza, 34,CEO of AXiS Software. “I  would  like to thank Inkomoko and African Entrepreneur Collective for making it possible.â€
Clement was  selected  as the winner by an independent  selection committee comprised  of Francis Gatare, CEO of      the Rwanda Development   Board;  Didier Nkurikiyimfura,Director  General of the  Ministry of Youth  and ICT;Lucy Mbabazi,Business Leader of Emerging Market Solutions at Visa Rwanda;and Harish Subramanian, Executive  Director of ALN Ventures.
The committee was  impressed by  Clement’s success in growing his software development firm, AXiS, as well as his  commitment to cultivating Rwanda’s ICT sector by co-founding   the Rwanda Private Sector  Federation ICT Chamber,the Rwanda Software Developers Association,and  the kLab Innovation Space.
Inkomoko’s top three finalists also included Gilbert  Gatali   of KZ Noir and Lydie Hakizimana of  Drakkar Ltd. KZ Noir works  with  more  than 10,000  Rwandan coffee  farmers  to produce premium coffee for local consumers  and to        export Rwanda’s  signature coffee brand  across  the world.
Drakkar Ltd is one  of  the only publishers  and  distributors of educational  materials in Kinyarwanda,and provides             science equipment  to thousands  of Rwandan  schools.The top  three were  selected  through a  nationwide  search that    included in-person and  online  outreach to  over  50,000  people in every   province and  industry.
Francis Gatare emphasized  how impressed he  was  by all three  finalists. “Each    of  them started small,   but have             been  growing  over  a  number  of  years  and  making a huge  impact to  the lives  of people that  they employ in           their  businesses, and to the overall economy in this country,†he said at  the African Leadership Network Awards Gala.
Clement’s journey  to becoming Rwanda’s  Outstanding  Entrepreneur began  in  2006,when he founded AXiS shortly after graduating from  Polytech Montpellier  in France with an M.Sc. in Management  and Information  Systems. The   company’s  mission was  to help Rwandan  small  and  medium enterprises (SMEs)  access  affordable  and  relevant              management software.
After    a  few stumbles, AXiS achieved profitability by expanding  into web and mobile-based  application    development   for  government  and NGOs.  AXiS wa recognized by the Rwanda Development   Board   as the Best  IT  firm in the SME  category in  2010.In  2013,the  company  launched  a  major new  initiative  focused  on  SMEs  with      the  introduction  of iPOS, a “Software  as  a Service†product that  allows  small retailers to improve  their  management through a  tablet-based retail application and cloud-based management  tools.
Not content  with merely being  a role model  for  aspiring entrepreneurs, Clement has also taken  the lead in  building    institutions to actively cultivate the next generation of ICT  entrepreneurs in  Rwanda.
He is  co-founder  and board member of  the Rwanda Private Sector  Federation ICT  Chamber, co-founder and Chairman of  the Rwanda Software Developers Association, and a founding Member of  the kLab Innovation Space.
Clement has also sought to share his  knowledge through  lecturing  positions at the College of Business and Economics and Carnegie Mellon University Rwanda.
Inkomoko and its  international partner,African Entrepreneur  Collective,launched the Outstanding Rwandan  Entrepreneur Award in order to  recognize  Rwandan  business leaders who demonstrate innovation, leadership,and   contribution to Rwanda’s development.
Applications were open to Rwanda-based entrepreneurs who started their businesses at the age of  35 or younger        and had annual revenue turnover of  more than  $50,000 USD  annually.
“We  partnered with the  African Leadership Network  to  provide  a  platform to recognize Rwandan entrepreneurs             before a  global   audience, bringing  new awareness of  what talented  entrepreneurs are doing to advance  Rwanda’s  growth.The  process  of searching  the country  for Rwanda’s best  has highlighted the  incredible  drive that       characterizes Rwanda’s young  entrepreneurs†said Julienne Oyler, Executive Director of African Entrepreneur   Collective.
“Clement  and his peers are  creating  the companies and the jobs that will further advance Rwanda’s economic transformation in the coming decades.It’s already happening right before our eyes.â€
By African  Entrepreneur   Collective