242 Students, 30 Seats: The Untapped Potential at Kagarama Secondary School

On Wednesday, November 19, 2025, the Growthwave team walked into Kagarama Secondary School with a goal: to launch our High School Developer Program and find the next generation of Rwandan innovators.

We were joined by visionaries who understand the stakes, including Prudence Twahirwa from the Rwanda ICT Chamber and Principal Nkurunziza Samuel, alongside the school’s Director of Studies.

We expected interest. We expected curiosity.

But we did not expect a movement to start overnight.

The Numbers That Woke Us Up

We opened registration for students in just two grades, S1 and S4. Within hours, the response was overwhelming.

242 students registered immediately.

Let that sink in. In a single afternoon, nearly 250 young people raised their hands and said, "I want to build. I want to code. I want to be part of the future."

Why the Rush? (The "3-Hour" Problem)

Why was the demand so high? The answer lies in the gap between the school curriculum and the students' ambitions.

Currently, even in a top school like Kagarama, many students in specific streams (like Pure Sciences or Social Sciences) are limited to just 3 hours of basic ICT per week. While this covers digital literacy, our students know that "Basic ICT" is not the same as software engineering. It is not AI readiness. It is not preparation for the global workforce.

They know the world is moving fast, and they are terrified of being left behind.

As Nayohmee, one of the students at the launch, bravely told us:

“This program is going to help us follow our passion for technology. For many of us, this is a dream come true. We are studying this science not because we want them but because we had no other option.”

Another student confessed they had wanted to attend a TVET school for computer science but couldn't. For them, Growthwave wasn't just an extracurricular club; it was a lifeline to a dream they thought they had lost.

The Heartbreaking Reality: 212 Students Left Behind

This brings us to the hard truth of our success.

Growthwave is a rigorous, resource-intensive program. We provide deep mentorship, industry-standard tools, and hands-on project support. Because of our current resource constraints—specifically regarding devices and mentor ratios—we only have the capacity to accept 30 students.

The Math:

1. 242 Passionate Applicants
2. 30 Available Seats
3. 212 Students turned away.

Right now, over 200 brilliant young minds at Kagarama are waiting at the door. They have the drive, the intelligence, and the passion. The only thing they lack is the opportunity.

A photo of students engaging with the Growthwave team.

A Call to Action: Help Us Expand the Table

We cannot let these 212 students—and thousands more like them across Rwanda—think that their dreams are invalid just because we lack seats.

This is a "good problem" to have, but it is a problem we must solve urgently. We have proven the demand. We have the curriculum. We have the trust of the schools.

We are calling on partners to help us bridge this gap.

Whether you are a corporate sponsor, a hardware provider (laptops are critical), or an educational grant organization, your support directly translates into seats for these students.

1. Partners: Help us scale our infrastructure to handle larger cohorts.
2. Mentors: Join us to keep the student-to-mentor ratio healthy.
3. Donors: Sponsor a student’s seat so cost and equipment are never barriers.

We refuse to be the generation that watched talent go to waste because we lacked resources. The students at Kagarama are ready. The question is: Are we ready for them?

If you want to help us turn those 212 "Nos" into "Yeses," please contact us today.

Request a proposal or schedule a meeting right now: https://www.growthwave.rw/request-proposal