--- title: Paula Ingabire: The 100 Most Influential People in AI 2025 description: Find out why Paula Ingabire made TIME’s list of the most influential people in artificial intelligence. canonical: https://time.com/collections/time100-ai-2025/7305801/paula-ingabire/ article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-08-26T18:59:16.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T11:54:40.797Z article:section: Business og:title: TIME100 AI 2025: Paula Ingabire og:description: Find out why Paula Ingabire made TIME’s list of the most influential people in artificial intelligence og:url: https://time.com/collections/time100-ai-2025/7305801/paula-ingabire/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt887256f65817b621/6998c928e2d64b60b4c5f9ab/Paula-Ingabire-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME100 AI 2025: Paula Ingabire og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: TIME100 AI 2025: Paula Ingabire twitter:description: Find out why Paula Ingabire made TIME’s list of the most influential people in artificial intelligence twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt887256f65817b621/6998c928e2d64b60b4c5f9ab/Paula-Ingabire-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Aug 26, 2025 # Paula Ingabire Minister of ICT and Innovation, Rwanda by [Gabriela Riccardi](https://time.com/author/gabriela-riccardi/) ## Gabriela Riccardi  Photo-Illustration by TIME (Source Photo: Hollie Adams—Bloomberg/ Getty Images) As Rwanda’s minister for innovation, Paula Ingabire believes AI can help transform the East African nation’s economy. By her department’s calculations, AI could contribute “at least 6%” to Rwanda’s GDP, Ingabire [said](https://www.cnbcafrica.com/media/6367562914112/wef-2025-rwanda-ict-minister-says-ai-to-contribute-6-to-gdp/) at the World Economic Forum in January. Nearly half of Rwanda’s workforce is employed in agriculture, according to the latest figures from the World Bank. Ingabire’s [vision](https://www.newtimes.co.rw/article/23992/news/technology/paris-ict-minister-on-how-rwanda-uses-ai-in-healthcare-agriculture) for AI infrastructure brings them to the fore, with AI-enabled early weather warning systems, satellite imagery, and soil health data among the applications her team is prioritizing. Other initiatives include supporting the development of an AI model for Kinyarwanda, the local language of Rwanda, and an AI-assisted tool that helps community health workers diagnose and treat medical conditions. One way she intends to make it happen: the Rwanda AI Scaling Hub, a center that will identify and develop AI opportunities in sectors like agriculture, health, and education. In April, Ingabire’s ministry secured a $7.5 million partnership with the Gates Foundation to build out the center. The investment was announced at the inaugural Global AI Summit on Africa, convened in part by the Ministry of ICT & Innovation. Rwanda’s deal also holds promise for the African continent at large: according to the foundation, similar hubs in countries like Senegal, Kenya, and Nigeria could follow. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-ai-2025/7305801/paula-ingabire/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-ai-2025/7305801/paula-ingabire/"},"headline":"Paula Ingabire","datePublished":"2025-08-26T18:59:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T11:54:40.797Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/time100-ai-2025/7305801/paula-ingabire/","keywords":["Tech","list","franchise","Magazine","Special Project","sponsorshipblock","Accolades","TIME100 AI 2025"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt887256f65817b621/6998c928e2d64b60b4c5f9ab/Paula-Ingabire-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Gabriela Riccardi","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/gabriela-riccardi/"}],"creator":"Gabriela Riccardi","articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt887256f65817b621/6998c928e2d64b60b4c5f9ab/Paula-Ingabire-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-ai-2025/7305801/paula-ingabire/","name":"Paula Ingabire"}}]}] ```