Clarisse Iribagiza is a Rwandan computer scientist. She is the co-founder and CEO of the mobile technology company, HeHe Limited. Born in 1988, Iribagiza has always been enthused with social development using the tool of technology. She founded the company as an undergraduate student, but the then start-up has grown to serve two million customers.
HeHe Limited is known for working with local suppliers to enable them to have unlimited access to an online store for their goods, inventory maintenance, thereby receiving digital payments from their customers. Meanwhile, HeHe Labs, a subsidiary of the company partners with GirlHub, an initiative geared at instilling ambitious moves in Rwandan girls. The girls are being taught ICT, technology, and design, including critical thinking.
Iribagiza in her capacity has been able to change the narrative of technological development on social culture in Rwanda today. To this cause, she sits as one of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) seven “eTrade for Women Advocates from the developing world”. Also, she was one of the “20 movers and shakers of Africa” named at the continent CEO Summit in 2012.
The 33-year-old tech-entrepreneur holds a degree in computer engineering from the University of Rwanda and an MBA in business from African Leadership University’s School of Business.
Iribagiza also currently sits on the African Development Bank’s Presidential Youth Advisory Group and was named among the top 100 global thinkers by an Italian Italian think tank, LSDP (Lo Spazio della Politica).