Ibaze Group, a company founded in 2014 by students, made the first ever solar-powered car in Rwanda. They presented this innovation at a manufacturing competition in India and they were in third place.
Ibaze group is made up of 11 engineers who focus on engineering, electronic, mechanical and civil engineering project with the aim of starting the first aerospace project in Rwanda, mono satellites called Cube Sat that will enable Rwandan researchers to get to space.
The group, assisted by their lecturer, Nzitonda, work together to create new inventions and while doing that they challenge and learn from each other.
“Each of us engineers have projects that we do individually and compete with each other and then after completion we exchange ideas on what we have done and we correct each other. We hope to create a factory one day that will focus on agriculture, water and energy that will benefit all Rwandans.” Explained Arsene Simbi, a member of the group.
Their first innovation, the solar powered car, took them only two weeks to complete, which is a record time since they thought it would take them six months to complete.
“We completed the innovation in just two weeks. This was not easy since it required all our full undivided attention, lots of hard work, many sacrifices and long sleepless nights. We were all determined and ready to put in all the required efforts to make our dreams come true.” said Simbi.
Ibaze Group has other inventions, among them digital LED boards for advertising that use less power than regular boards, as well as agricultural-related projects, since their main objective is to modernize agriculture in Rwanda.
In 2018, the group wants to start an industry that will employ over 100 Rwandans to make their dream of Rwanda’s first aerospace project come true.
“We are doing this because we want Rwanda to be independent in all aspects. We share the same vision as President Paul Kagame, and we want to contribute to the development of our country. We want Rwanda to also have a way of collecting date on space and to also carry out their own research without having to rely on data received from other countries.” explained Simbi.
“Our advice to Rwandans especially the youth is that they should work hard and dare to take the step that is challenging most. Starting is the hardest part, but through endurance and consistency we can all make a big impact to the development of our country. We should aim to start industries as it is a source of income to develop our families and the entire country especially in this generation. We also urge them to support Made in Rwanda products as their own. Our hope is to see Rwandans and the country at large develop.” Advised Simbi.