The Government of Rwanda and artificial intelligence (AI) company Anthropic have signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to bring AI to Rwanda’s education, health, and public sector systems.
The agreement, announced last week, marks the first time the company has formalized a multi-sector partnership through a government MoU—a formal but non-binding agreement that indicates parties’ intention to move forward with a contract—on the African continent.
“This partnership with Anthropic is an important milestone in Rwanda’s AI journey,” said Paula Ingabire, Minister of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Innovation in Rwanda. “Our goal is to continue to design and deploy AI solutions that can be applied at a national level to strengthen education, advance health outcomes, and enhance governance with an emphasis on our context.”
According to Anthropic, the MoU builds on an education partnership announced last November between the government of Rwanda and African tech training provider ALX to bring Chidi, a learning companion built on Claude, to hundreds of thousands of learners across Africa.
The latest collaboration will focus on three areas: accelerating Rwanda’s health goals, enabling public sector developers, and deepening the company’s existing education partnership in Rwanda and throughout the region.
“We’re investing in training, technical support, and capacity building to expand access so that AI can be used safely and independently by teachers, health workers, and public servants throughout Rwanda,” said Elizabeth Kelly, Head of Beneficial Deployments at Anthropic, adding that “technology is only as valuable as its reach.”
In terms of specifics, Anthropic said it will support the Rwandan Ministry of Health in tackling its ambitious national health goals, including its plan to eliminate cervical cancer and its ongoing efforts to reduce malaria and maternal mortality.
Developer teams across government institutions will use the AI giant’s large language model (LLM) Claude and an AI-powered coding assistant Claude Code, whilst receiving hands-on training, capacity building, and API (application programming interface) credits.
“Anthropic’s Beneficial Deployments team has worked closely with the Ministry of ICT and Innovation and partners to design programs matched to Rwanda’s needs and priorities,” said the company. “This access will support Rwanda’s broader efforts to integrate AI into other public sector areas.”
Further, the MoU “formally codifies” the November 2025 education agreement, which included 2,000 Claude Pro licenses for educators across Rwanda, AI literacy training for public servants, and the deployment of a Claude-powered AI learning companion across eight African countries.
“Today’s announcement builds on our education partnerships, which help students and educators interact with AI, and marks a significant expansion into the health sector,” said Anthropic. “Together, these partnerships reflect a long-term collaboration that prioritizes capacity building, responsible deployment, and local autonomy over how new technologies are introduced.”
Rwanda digital acceleration
Rwanda has made itself one of Africa’s leaders in digitalization. A 2024 report by the International Data Center Authority ranked Rwanda first on the continent for digital readiness. Last year, the East African nation ranked third in the African Leapfrog Index, produced by Tufts University to measure the adoption of digital technologies to public services, behind only South Africa and Kenya.
A large part of this digital success comes from substantial government investment, not least a Rwf280 billion ($200 million) “Digital Acceleration Project,” which the Rwandan government revealed in July 2025 was halfway done.
Speaking to lawmakers at the time, the CEO of the Rwanda Information Society Authority (RISA), Innocent Bagamba Muhizi, said the project is 55% complete, with the government targeting completion by 2026.
The World Bank funds the project and aims to digitalize public services and integrate emerging technology to improve education, health, and agriculture. Specifically, the project supports access to smart devices in marginalized communities, nationwide digital literacy programs, and funds connectivity for remote government offices, schools, and hospitals. It also aims to boost digital ID uptake in the country, channeling $39.3 million to the cause.
The government’s new MoU with Anthropic will further some of these goals.
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Source: https://coingeek.com/rwanda-inks-mou-with-anthropic-for-ai-in-public-sector/