IremboGov — Rwanda's Web, App and USSD Multi-Channel Design for a Low-Smartphone Population

IremboGov is Rwanda's national digital government platform, run by Irembo Ltd in partnership with the Government of Rwanda since 2015. It now provides access to over 100 public services spanning civil registration, land, health insurance, immigration and taxation. Independent research by the Institute of Development Studies and the University of Bristol's Personal Finance Research Centre found that only about 22% of the population owns a smartphone and only around 20% use mobile internet, even though mobile broadband network coverage reaches 99% of the country.

Provide equitable access to national digital government services in a country where the majority of citizens cannot rely on smartphones or home internet access, rather than assuming a web-only design would reach the population.

The platform is deliberately built around three parallel channels: a website, a mobile app, and a text-based USSD interface (dial *909#) that works on basic feature phones without a data connection. More than 7,000 trained agents provide in-person, last-mile support for citizens who lack devices, connectivity or digital skills.

The independent study documents 300,000-500,000 applications submitted monthly, over 25 million applications processed to date, roughly US$300 million in transaction value, about 80% of transactions completed fully online, and an estimated 100 million working hours saved as processing times for common documents fell from around five days to 24 hours. In February 2026 the platform won the GovTech Prize's 'Best Government Service in the World' award at the World Governments Summit in Dubai.

The researchers are candid that gaps remain — national digital literacy stood at 53% against a 2027 target of 80% — so the multi-channel and agent-assisted design remains a necessary complement to, not a substitute for, continued digital-skills investment.