The findings position higher education institutions among Rwanda’s most innovation-active sectors, alongside government entities.

The survey, disseminated by the National Council for Science and Technology (NCST), highlights remarkable progress in institutional innovation. According to the results:

• 89% of higher education institutions are actively engaged in innovation
• 86.1% introduced new innovations between 2022 and 2024
• 77.8% have an innovation strategy in place 
• 52.8% allocate a dedicated budget for innovation activities.

Speaking at the launch event, Minister of Education, Dr. Joseph Nsengimana, hailed the milestone as a major step forward in understanding Rwanda’s innovation landscape and driving evidence-based policy.

“Rwanda’s innovation ecosystem is growing, but we need to address investment and skills gaps. By working closely across government, academia, and industry, we can bridge research and commercialization and expand Rwanda’s innovation internationally,” said Minister Nsengimana.

He emphasized that overall investment in innovation remains relatively low, with business enterprises dedicating less than one percent of their annual turnover to innovation activities.

“Most innovations are service-related and domestically focused, while human capacity gaps persist. These findings call for deeper collaboration to internationalize Rwanda’s innovation output,” he added.

During the ceremony, five outstanding researchers were recognized and awarded for their significant contributions to advancing research and innovation in Rwanda.

Dr. Eugene Mutimura, Executive Secretary of NCST, underscored the importance of the survey in shaping future policy and partnerships.

“This survey provides vital baseline data to understand Rwanda’s innovation landscape from key challenges to investment trends helping guide evidence-based policies and partnerships that strengthen national innovation capacity,” he said.

The Rwanda Innovation Survey (2022–2024) is expected to inform national strategies for research, development, and innovation, supporting Rwanda’s vision to become a knowledge-based economy.