Italian think tank LSDP (Lo Spazio della Politica) has listed Clarisse Iribagiza, a young Rwandan tech entrepreneur, among their top 100 global thinkers.
LSDP explained that Iribagiza was added to the global list, as “she is one of the faces of a communicative and technological revolution in Africa.” Iribagiza is the founder and chief executive of Hehe Ltd, a start-up tech firm that majors in software development among other services.
According to The New Times, “she was placed 32nd coming behind Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in a list that included political leaders, businessmen, scientists, academics, journalists and intellectual leaders selected from across the globe.”
But this isn’t her first international recognition, as Hehe Ltd was awarded for developing socially transforming IT solutions at last year’s Transform Africa Summit in Kigali, among other numerous awards that she has received through the company’s history.
In regards to the list, Pope Francis was awarded the top position “because he reminded the world that the Catholic Church is a global power,” the think tank said, followed by central bankers of the US, Russia and Israel, who “showed that the central bankers’ club is not “men-only” anymore.”
Other Africans who were included in the list are:
* Mabel Imbuga, the vice chancellor of Jomo Kenyatta University
* Elsie Kanza, a Kenyan woman who heads the world economic forum
* Juliana Rotich, a Kenyan entrepreneur
* Calestous Juma, a professor at Havard Kennedy University
* Sarah Menker, founder and chief executive of a data firm in Ethiopia.
Charlie Fripp – Consumer Tech editor
