This session turns the spotlight on partnerships that reimagine what North–South collaboration can look like. It highlights a practical training initiative in Rwanda that empowers young tech talents to gain real-world experience, while purpose-driven startups from the Global North receive the digital solutions they need to drive change and transform systems impacting their communities.

Through collaboration programs like Garage B and Code Purpose, students from nine Rwandan universities participate in a structured software development training program alongside their academic studies. After completing a year of intensive foundational training, they begin working on real-world projects in collaboration with Startups, building MVPs, feature bundles, or digital prototypes tailored to the needs of these Impact Startups.

The result: impact-driven startups gain access to custom-built tech solutions through a meaningful, skill-building process for emerging developers, while Rwandan trainees build real-world portfolios as part of their structured training program. Instead of outsourcing or charity, this is a win-win model rooted in mutual collaboration, benefit, shared purpose, and long-term growth, marking a significant shift in narrative and power within the global tech ecosystem, and offering a model ready to scale.

In this session, you’ll hear directly from the teams who have made it work, from the program managers and developers in Kigali to the startups that have already benefited. Learn how this approach is shaping a more just, effective, and collaborative global tech ecosystem and how your own project might be part of it.

This event is available for participation both in person and online. You can join online via the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81734451381