Paula Ingabire

Paula Ingabire is a Rwandan technology enthusiast, who currently serves as the Minister of ICT and Innovation in the Government of Rwanda. Prior to her appointment as Minister, she served as Head of the ICT Business Development Department at the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and coordinator of the Kigali Innovation City Project, a flagship program of the Government designed to nurture and strengthen a Pan-African Innovation eco-system in Rwanda. As the Head of the ICT Business Development department in RDB, she led the implementation of National ICT programs notably eGovernment and Cyber Security.

Minister Ingabire coordinated the creation of SMART Africa, an initiative that seeks to leverage broadband infrastructure as a driver for Africa’s socio-economic growth. The platform brings together Heads of Government, policymakers and corporates across Africa to shape Africa’s digital transformation agenda. She is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s School of Engineering & Sloan School of Management, in the System Design and Management program and holds a BS in Computer Engineering and Information Technology from the University of Rwanda (former Kigali Institute of Science and Technology). With 10 years' experience leading ICT programs for economic development, she’s a keen advocate of the role of innovation and emerging technologies towards driving economic growth. Paula was named in 2019 by Apolitical among the Top 20 of the World’s 100 most influential people in digital government. She serves on the Global Council of the World Summit Award Board of Directors, World Economic Forum Cyber Security Board and Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Global Network Advisory Board.