The Story of Sauvé: A Young Rwandan Entrepreneur Building Africa’s Sovereign Cloud.

Sauvé Jean-Luc, a Rwandan software engineer and entrepreneur, is on a mission to bring Africa’s digital wealth back to the continent. Through his latest venture, Strettch Cloud, he is building regional cloud infrastructure to solve the challenges of local data sovereignty and high costs.

A Foundation in Curiosity

Born and raised in Kigali, Sauvé’s journey began with a focus on understanding the why behind things. His early education at Ecole Internationale de Kigali and Groupe Scolaire Sainte Bernadette Save instilled a passion for Mathematics and Physics.

He eventually discovered Computer Science as the practical application of these sciences. He spent his time researching how technology could redefine the future.

The Rwanda Coding Academy

A major shift occurred when Sauvé was selected for the inaugural class of the Rwanda Coding Academy. This government-backed school provided the software engineering skills that launched his career. It was also here that he met four of his future co-founders.

Professional Growth and Leadership

Before launching his startup, Sauvé sharpened his skills at Umwalimu Sacco, leading the maintenance of their core banking system and the development of their nationwide stock management system. He also refined his leadership and communication skills through Toastmasters, serving as the Vice President of Membership for the TRES Club.

The Birth of Strettch Cloud

After facing rejections from several international universities, Sauvé and his colleagues at the African Leadership University decided to combine their expertise.

They founded Strettch, initially winning a competitive tender for the Rwanda Polytechnic E-Portfolio system against 70 other startups.

Today, the team is focused on Strettch Cloud, a Pan-African Cloud Computing Company that they built after years of experiencing firsthand the pain and frustration that came from struggling to acquire cloud services locally, which required phone calls, email chains, and days of waiting.

Sauvé believes in significant investment in Research & Development, and position Africa as a global exporter of technological innovation, rather than merely a consumer.