The 21-year-old software engineers’ AI project, dubbed Bwenge, was ranked first among 18 projects reviewed by judges in the 48-hour competition on Sunday, September 29, 2024, securing them Frw 5 million in cash prizes and VIP passes to the Global AI Summit on Africa in April 2025.

Bwenge is an AI-powered chatbot that allows any citizen with a phone, even without internet access, to make a call and access digital government services. The bot has been integrated with IremboPay, a payment solution for Rwanda’s one-stop shop for government services, to ensure seamless payments.

The 21-year-old software engineers' AI project, dubbed Bwenge, was ranked first among 18 projects reviewed by judges in the 48-hour competition on Sunday, September 29, 2024

“You can ask the bot how to do things, for example, how to start a business in Rwanda, and it will provide you with a detailed guide,” Izabayo explained.

“You can also request an SMS on how to pay for an application, and it will send you a direct text. You can then call, and the system will prompt you to make a payment through mobile money (MOMO).”

Another interesting feature of the chatbot is its telephone agent, which allows two people who speak different languages to have a conversation on a call, with the bot translating for each of them.

Cedric Izabayo (left) and Libériste Clarence (right) pose for a photo with Rwanda Information Society Authority (RISA) CEO Innocent Muhizi during the awarding ceremony at Irembo Campus in Nyarutarama.

Izabayo and Clarence are graduates of the Rwanda Coding Academy and work at Pivot Access and Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB), respectively. The two young software developers could not contain their excitement after winning the top prize on their very first attempt at such a competition.

“This journey was really interesting; it showed us what we can accomplish in less than 48 hours. We were thinking about what we could do to provide value to the whole Rwandan society, especially for those who don’t have access to the internet,” Clarence beamed, adding that ironically they were among the last groups to apply for the hackathon, just a few hours before the application deadline.

Libériste Clarence takes the judges through his team's AI project.

The duo is open to collaborating with other partners to implement and explore other ideas leveraging artificial intelligence.

“We have the ability to do more things. Now we are using a phone, but one can use WhatsApp to send requests. The possibilities are endless,” Izabayo concluded.

Peter Charles Djomga, Director of Software Engineering at Irembo, said the project has the potential to revolutionize access to information, especially for persons with limited internet access.

Peter Charles Djomga, Director of Software Engineering at Irembo, makes his remarks during the awarding ceremony.

“The project can have a huge impact in Rwanda because the way it’s deployed allows people without internet to access information by just calling a phone number. It can have a huge impact in urban and rural areas,” Djomga stated, emphasizing that the pioneering event was organised to create solutions that address real-world challenges and drive meaningful impact in Rwanda.

The second place went to a team of four developers with a technology titled Immersive AI. It’s a platform that enables businesses and individuals to create their own AI workflow agents to automate processes and improve productivity. The project developers included Dirac Murairi, Landelin Gihozo, Julien Barezi and Kevin Nkusi.

The Immersive AI project finished second in the competition.

Somatek AI clinched the third place. The project was also undertaken by group of four young software developers, who built an AI-powered browser extension that simplifies complex technical documentation. The team, comprising Janvier Ntwali, Laura Celine Ishimwe, Dean Daryl Murenzi, and Leny Pascal Ihirwe, developed the extension to assist the government in its recently rolled-out scheme to train one million coders under the second National Strategy for Transformation (NST2) by 2029.

“Given that most Rwandan youth are low-proficient English speakers, we decided to create a solution for them to transcribe technical documentation to their level for better understanding and learning experiences,” the team explained.

The two teams won Frw 2 million and Frw 1 million, respectively.

Somatek AI clinched the third place in the competition.

In developing practical AI solutions, the participants leveraged large language models (LLMs) and locally built technologies. Teams had the opportunity to access IremboPay APIs to integrate cutting-edge digital payment solutions into their projects. Pindo, a partner of the event, also provided access to its latest speech-to-text and text-to-speech AI models for voice-enabled applications.

Twenty teams comprising 63 individuals were initially selected to participate in the competition from a pool of more than 130 teams, but only 18 teams made it to the final stage and had their projects reviewed by a panel of eminent judges from Irembo, C4IR, and RSSB, among other partners.

Esther Kunda, the Director General of Innovation & Emerging Technologies at the Ministry of ICT and Innovation in Rwanda and Alain Ndayishimiye, Project Lead for AI/ML at C4IR Rwanda, were among the judges.

Ndayishimiye commended the dedication of all the teams in the competition, highlighting the creativity in their projects.

"Over the past 48 hours, we have witnessed remarkable technical ingenuity, creativity, and collaboration, turning many ideas into real MVPs that address some of the country’s most pressing challenges," he remarked.

He emphasized that every participant, irrespective of the contest’s outcome, should take pride in their accomplishments and push themselves to achieve even more.

"Regardless of the results, you should be proud of your achievements. We look forward to more initiatives like this, aligned with the AI policy, to support local talent and foster meaningful change," he added.

The winning teams pose for a photo with some of the judges of the competition.