Olivier Gihana

Olivier is an expert in telecommunications, space and corporate law. He leads Policy Impact Partners’ digital connectivity work in Rwanda and he currently heads his own law firm’s commitment to the delivery of strategic and innovative legal and business solutions in the telecommunications, space and corporate spheres.

Olivier began his career at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and subsequently worked for the Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority where he contributed to bilateral air services agreements and the first drone regulations. He was lead counsel for Irembo, an eGovernment platform that enables the access and provision of government services in Rwanda.

At the Rwanda Space Agency, Olivier was contracted to support in the development of regulatory and policy frameworks for the agency in matters related to outer space. Among other things, Olivier is supporting the upcoming national lottery in Rwanda and he currently works with GesellschaftfürInternationaleZusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on the project “Rwanda: Enabling the future of e-commerce”. He was previously contracted by UN International Trade Centre as a consultant on e-commerce.

Committed to empowering and elevating people, as well as building stronger communities, Olivier supports the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Rwanda through Westerwelle Startup Haus and Entrepreneurial Solutions Partners (ESP) incubation centres with his legal expertise in their respective annual fellowship programs. Olivier speaks English, French, Kinyarwanda and Swahili and has a Master’s degree in space and telecommunications law from Paris Sud University.