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.”

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.”

By African   Entrepreneur    Collective