A delegation of German investors in technology development has committed to further invest in Rwanda’s ICT sector skills development ecosystem, despite the current anti-Rwanda political propaganda led by the Belgian government, which aims to divert European investments from the country.
The commitment follows a visit to Rwanda by a delegation from TestSolutions GmbH. The visit was intended to gather firsthand information about the current political situation in the Great Lakes region and in Rwanda, to further inform their future investment decisions.
TestSolutions GmbH, an international software testing firm, opened its subsidiary in Rwanda – TestSolutions Rwanda (TSR) – two and a half years ago. TSR’s operations focus on training and exporting young Rwandan software testing skills to European market developers.
Christian Knoop, the Managing Director TestSolutions GmbH and head of the delegation, stated that the company has invested over 100,000 euros and stated that with plans increase their investments and triple their workforce (currently 280 employees globally), the visit provided valuable insights for their investment decisions and prompted them to address the ongoing anti-Rwanda propaganda.
“The feedback we got from the delegation is overwhelming. What they are saying is not only how open, safe and clean Rwanda is but also how everybody is committed to rebuild the country for a wealthy life and how the youth is eager to learn. I can say they the delegation has become ambassadors of Rwanda,” Knoop said.
African to EU Travel Challenges:
Christian Knoop, the Managing Director TestSolutions GmbH
Due to the strained relations between Rwanda and Belgium and the subsequent closure of embassies on both sides, Rwandans and Belgians planning to travel to Schengen countries must now apply for visas through the Kenyan embassy.
Test Solutions GmbH, as a proud partner with Rwanda, plans to implement knowledge exchange programs to foster the tech ecosystem in Rwanda. These programs will enable young Rwandan talents and business partners to travel to Germany for learning opportunities with leading German tech companies.
However, for these plans to proceed smoothly, Test Solutions is urging the German government to address the current visa application procedure. They are requesting that the process be changed to allow applicants to directly obtain their German visas from local country embassies, such as the one in Kigali.
“It is clear that the situation will not last long, requiring us to travel to Kenya to obtain a visa from Belgians while we have our own embassy here. We are hoping for a smart solution in the next weeks. The new situation even has the potential to strengthen ties between Germany and Rwanda,” Knoop said in an exclusive interview with KTPress.
Knoop warned that the failure to eliminate this hurdle could negatively impact their business plans in Rwanda, as they are currently in discussions with Europe’s largest airline group to test their software in Rwanda.
“That is what our clients also expect, and they should rightfully expect that. If the visa issue is not solved, this will impact business, which is totally incomprehensible,” Knoop added.
Considering the negative and anti-Rwanda narrative in Europe, Knoop revealed that they to plan to work with the European Chamber of Commerce Rwanda to form a network of business owners to counter this agenda.
“We want to launch this network in the summer of this year and when we are back in Germany, we will reach out to these companies, and hope more will join us,” Knoop said.
Rwanda-Africa Perspective:
Knoop explained that bringing their business and major global partners to Rwanda aims to change the existing model where software testing is predominantly done in India – a model that faces challenges due to high service company turnover and knowledge loss.
“We see here (in Rwanda) the commitment of the people to stay and retain knowledge within the country and within our company, which is much more sustainable than the India model.
This was also the reason for opening a new offshore hub here, and we see that Rwanda has everything it needs to perfectly connect to the world,” Knoop said, citing the similar time zone with Germany, a large youth population, and similar policies for developing youth skills in ICT as perfect connections.
Janis Just (middle), the Senior Manager at TestSolutions Rwanda welcomed the delegation to Kigali
Janis Just, the Senior Manager at TestSolutions Rwanda, affirmed that Rwanda is open for business and has visa-free policies, which benefits their clients and has enabled many to visit and conduct business. This reinforces the need to maintain and expand their operations in Rwanda.
“So, everyone can and should visit the country and form their own image of what the country (Rwanda) can do,” Just stated.
Rwanda’s software training strategy is a multi-pronged approach that starts with foundational digital literacy in schools, offers specialized software engineering education through academies and universities, provides vocational training for industry-specific skills, and implements nationwide programs to up skill the general population.
Software developers at the Gym Rwanda training center
The strategy is driven by national policies and involves collaborations with international partners and the private sector to create a robust pipeline of software talent.
For example, the 1 Million Rwandan Coders initiative is a national program aimed at equipping Rwanda’s current and future workforce with essential digital skills to compete globally.
Peace and Post-Conflict Researcher Dr. Eric Ndushabandi speaking at an evening reception of TestSolutions at Choose Kigali Restaurant
Rwanda has established a Competency-Based Curriculum in Basic Education to build foundational digital literacy from a young age, launched the Rwanda Coding Academy (RCA) to specifically produce top-tier software engineers, the African Digital Media Academy (ADMA) to provide skills for the digital media industry, and the Skills Development Fund (SDF) to support short-term training and apprenticeships to address specific skills gaps in the ICT sector.
Rwanda has also focused on partnerships, leading to new initiatives for professional skills development, especially with international universities like Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Kigali, which aims to establish centers of excellence in ICT and increase high-level ICT skills.
Industry-Led Training Programs: Companies like AmaliTech and Ape Unit offer intensive software development training programs (“The Gym”) with potential job placements, focusing on practical, market-oriented skills.
Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) Training: Various institutions offer SDLC training and certifications to improve project efficiency and software development processes.
Janis Just emphasized that this is the ecosystem they want to work in and tap into the vast talent in Rwanda.
“There is so much great talent here in Rwanda that are basically our force for success. So we need this strong young force that we are training, hiring, and growing with,” Just said.
MoU signing with the Africa Leadership University (ALU)
During the week-long visit, the delegation held several business meetings with ICT sector players, including the ministry and ICT chambers, and signed an MoU with the Africa Leadership University (ALU) and paid tribute to over 250,000 genocide victims laid at the Kigali Genocide memorial site in Gisozi.
Honoring genocide victims at the Kigali Genocide memorial site in Gisozi.
The delegation also hosted a dinner for its development partners and collaborating embassies in Rwanda, who were represented by the ambassadors of Israel, the European Union, and their host embassy – Germany.
Knoop concluded that following their visit to Rwanda and learning more about the country, they will send more investor delegations to do the same.
