Rwanda
Custom ERP and billing, AI agents, web applications and SaaS for hospitality and food businesses in Kigali. Built by Flip Retail in Jaipur, India, and delivered remotely, with working software every two weeks.
01 — Local economy
Conferences fill much of the hotel calendar, with the Kigali Convention Centre and BK Arena hosting regional summits, sporting events and trade meetings. Coffee and tea exporters, construction firms and the manufacturers and warehouses of the Kigali Special Economic Zone form the industrial side, and the Kigali International Financial Centre aims to attract fund managers and fintech companies.
Kinyarwanda, English, French and Swahili
02 — Industries
What we would build first for the industries Kigali is known for.
03 — Compliance
What an ERP, billing system or AI agent has to respect here.
| Indirect tax | VAT, standard rate 18%VAT is 18%, with registration required above RWF 20 million annual (or RWF 5 million quarterly) turnover and monthly or quarterly returns depending on size. A 1.5% digital services tax was legislated in May 2025, but the ministerial order setting its scope and procedures was still pending. |
|---|---|
| E-invoicing | Mandatory · RRA EBM (Electronic Billing Machine) 2.1 / VSDCEveryone carrying out taxable activities, VAT-registered or not, must issue an RRA EBM invoice for every sale, using EBM 2.1 software, Online EBM for low-volume service providers, or a certified VSDC integration of their own invoicing or ERP system. Consumers who request EBM invoices are rewarded with 10% of the VAT paid. |
| Data protection | Law No. 058/2021 on the Protection of Personal Data and PrivacyIn force since October 2021 with the transition period now over: all controllers and processors must register with the National Cyber Security Authority (NCSA) regardless of size, and personal data must be stored in Rwanda unless the NCSA authorises storage or transfer abroad, which directly affects SaaS hosting. |
| AI rules | No AI-specific statute; the cabinet-approved National AI Policy (April 2023, MINICT) sets guidance for responsible and ethical AI adoption, and AI processing of personal data is subject to Law 058/2021. |
| Systems we migrate from or connect to | QuickBooks, Sage, Odoo, Zoho Books, SAP Business One, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business CentralMasters, ledgers, stock and open balances move across and are reconciled before cutover. |
| Payment rails for web apps and SaaS | MTN MoMo, Airtel Money, IremboPay, Flutterwave |
| Also worth knowing | EBM invoices use a buyer purchase-code security feature (introduced in 2023), so B2B invoicing flows need to capture it. Rwanda's data law requires local storage unless the NCSA authorises otherwise, which affects SaaS hosting choices. |
General information, not legal or tax advice. Last reviewed October 2026. Rules change, so we confirm current requirements during discovery; your tax adviser should confirm anything that affects filings.
Sources consulted:
04 — Working together
Jaipur is 3 h 30 min ahead of Kigali all year. A 09:00 start there is 12:30 in Jaipur. Standard 09:00–18:00 office days overlap by 5 h 30 min, which is enough for live calls, demos and same-day answers.
Local time, standard time.
Pranjal was very professional with excellent communication and transparency.
50+ projects for 30+ clients in 11 countries over six-plus years.
05 — FAQ
Yes, remotely. Flip Retail is a software studio in Jaipur, India, with no office in Kigali; discovery happens on video calls and you get working software every two weeks.
Jaipur is 3 h 30 min ahead of Kigali all year. A 09:00 start there is 12:30 in Jaipur. Standard 09:00–18:00 office days overlap by 5 h 30 min, which is enough for live calls, demos and same-day answers.
Yes. Invoicing is built for Rwanda's VAT (standard rate 18%). On e-invoicing: Everyone carrying out taxable activities, VAT-registered or not, must issue an RRA EBM invoice for every sale, using EBM 2.1 software, Online EBM for low-volume service providers, or a certified VSDC integration of their own invoicing or ERP system. Consumers who request EBM invoices are rewarded with 10% of the VAT paid. A custom ERP connects to EBM through its official API or an accredited provider, and we confirm the current requirements in discovery.
You choose: your own cloud account in a region that suits you, or your own servers. Access inside the system is role-based, and during development we work on test or masked data wherever possible. In force since October 2021 with the transition period now over: all controllers and processors must register with the National Cyber Security Authority (NCSA) regardless of size, and personal data must be stored in Rwanda unless the NCSA authorises storage or transfer abroad, which directly affects SaaS hosting.
Yes. Masters, ledgers, stock and opening balances move across and are reconciled with your accountant before cutover, ideally at a year-end or quarter-end.
For English and French, yes: current language models handle them well, including mixed-language messages. Support for Kinyarwanda is more limited, so we test with real customer messages before committing to it, and route anything the agent is unsure about to your team.
Usually one module that fixes the most expensive problem first. For tourism & hospitality that is often recipe costing & kitchen inventory and multi-outlet procurement. It goes live early, and the rest of the system follows in two-week increments while your team is already using it.
Contact
Tell us about the process you want fixed. We reply within one working day.