Clarisse Iribagiza, the computer scientist who is revolutionising e-commerce in Rwanda

Clarisse Iribagiza is a Rwandan computer scientist and entrepreneur. She is the CEO and co-founder of “HeHe Limited,” a company that develops innovative softwares that enable businesses to optimize their operations and reach more customers everywhere. In 2015, she was listed in the Forbes Africa Under 30 ranking.

Clarisse Iribagiza is one of the African women entrepreneurs whose journey in the field of technology inspires. It was at the age of 22 and while still a student that the young Rwandan created the company HeHe Limited, which is today the largest e-commerce company in Rwanda, digitizing more than 200 companies and serving more than 2 million customers.

As a student at the College of Science and Technology of the University of Rwanda, she participated in 2010 with other students in an incubation program with professors from Massachusetts Information Technology (MIT) for six weeks. This initiated her to mobile technology development and entrepreneurship. Thanks to this program, the young student managed to structure her project and later launched it by creating the company “HeHe Limited” with friends.

Her company’s mission is to enable manufacturers and distributors to easily bring their products to the consumer by allowing them to access them on demand. They have access to an online shop for their goods and receive digital payments from their end customers.

In 2012, she participated in the first season of the entrepreneurial reality TV show, Inspire Africa, which she won. That same year, she was named as one of the “20 people who have moved and shaken Africa”. In 2013, the Rwandan first lady, Jeannette Kagame recognized her as one of the of the Imbuto Foundation’s “Celebrating Young Rwandan Achievers”.

Committed to encouraging more Rwandan girls to opt for science and technology, she created in partnership with GirlHub, “HeHe Labs”, an initiative to inspire Rwandan girls, teaching them ICT, technology, design and critical thinking.

In 2016, she was elected as a member of the African Development Bank’s Presidential Youth Advisory Group, which hears from young people on ways to harness the skills, talents and ideas of African youth.

In 2018, she sold her start-up to the Japanese DMM.com group, where she is currently the Managing Director.

In 2019, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development named her one of the “7 Women E-Commerce Advocates”.