The new fintech hub, it’s hoped, will allow collaboration between fintechs and financial institutions.

To support its National Fintech Strategy, unveiled last year, Rwanda has now announced plans to launch a fintech hub.

The two main goals of the strategy, which is due to run to 2029, are to attract US$200 million in investments and to create at least 7 500 jobs.

“To this end, a fintech hub is being launched to foster collaborations between startups and financial institutions,” said Paula Ingabire, Rwanda's Minister of Information and Communication Technology and Innovation.

This was revealed as Ingabire gave a keynote address, yesterday, at the conclusion of the Inclusive Fintech Forum (IFF), hosted in the country’s capital, Kigali.

Titled ‘Harvesting technology: Policies moving Rwanda forward’, the minister’s session highlighted the country’s strategic policies and initiatives driving its sustainable and inclusive digital transformation.

“Beyond policy and investment, Rwanda offers something unique, a test bed for African fintech solutions, an agile space to experiment fast and scale big,” she told delegates.

Ingabire said that she believes the country’s regulatory framework is progressive, with two sandbox facilities with the Central Bank of Rwanda and Capital Market Authority.

“Through them, we have been able to revise our licensing models to allow startups to test and scale with confidence,” she said.

“Rwanda's digital transformation has been very deliberate. We see technology not just as a tool, but as a backbone of inclusive economic growth,” Ingabire said.

Through the National Fintech Strategy, launched last October, Rwanda aims to increase the number of fintech players from 75 to 300 by the year 2029.