Alain Roberto Berwa, a young man born and raised in Rwanda, attended secondary school at Collège Saint André in Nyamirambo, but was particularly passionate about technology, especially computer programming.
During his years in this school, he used technology to create a bell system used to signal different times within it.
In 2017, he moved to the United States to pursue his studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
It was from this university that he obtained a master’s degree in Computer Science and Economics, and he currently resides in Los Angeles, California.
Berwa says he has always been involved in numerous projects since his love for technology started early, having begun programming at the age of 12.
He confirms that studying at this university enhanced his experience, where he says, “After high school, that’s what I wanted to immerse myself in, and finding myself at MIT increased my thirst for knowledge, especially advanced knowledge in computing.”
His journey in technology was successful as he also interned at the prominent tech company Facebook, “Something I consider a great opportunity I gained thanks to studying at MIT.”
He has a ‘Smart Contract’ project that could significantly change the financial sector.
Currently, Berwa runs a company named Seal, which deals with Smart Contracts.
A Smart Contract is a way to monitor and control the execution of agreements between two parties using the internet. This method builds trust between the partners and ensures their agreements are executed flawlessly.
This approach can be used in finance, healthcare, and many other fields.
Berwa says, “The idea to establish and build ‘Seal’ came from over two years of experience as a Smart Contract engineer, during which I saw many gaps in the financial sector that needed to be filled.”
“Therefore, seeing these challenges motivated me to bring this Smart Contract technology to also contribute to those in the sector.”
Currently, the number of people working in Smart Contracts globally is estimated to be between 40,000 and 45,000 in total.
Berwa says, “In the next five or ten years, I see technology platforms as the infrastructure in finance for money transfers and payments, such that we might even have a leading currency in the region that is widely used.”
“I envision many countries adopting what we do. Particularly for our company, I expect we will have millions of experts in this technology field in Africa and Rwanda.”
He predicts that in the next five years, there will be many applications related to Smarts Contracts, “and economically, we will have made significant progress by establishing various companies all contributing positively to the financial sector.”
Berwa says, “What I can tell you is that opportunities are not easy to come by, and the window for these opportunities is very small and narrow. If someone is young and passionate about something, like coding or playing soccer, if it interests you, continue doing it.”
He mentioned, “Although it’s challenging, what is required of you is to keep working tirelessly, knowing that at around 20 years of age, you need to work even harder, while also keeping in mind that sometimes people achieve remarkable things at around 40 years, so don’t lose hope.”
In general, he expressed his wish for his company to become a solution to existing financial and banking issues, potentially becoming a giant on the international stage like Bitcoin.
“One of the key goals I aim to achieve is to solve all the existing problems in the financial sector, especially those related to technology, so we can create clear solutions that even people working in computer technology in Rwanda, Africa, and the whole world can use our platform.”
Before leaving Rwanda, Berwa worked for a company called “Tike,” which he started with his peers after finishing high school. This company was the first of its kind, aiming to help people get tickets to concerts and sports events using technology.
