Case Study · Hardware + Software · Government of Rwanda · 2020

Rwanda Biomedical Centre × Ministry of Health

During COVID-19, SMS Group co-delivered Rwanda's first automated sanitizing gate with the Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) and the Ministry of Health — designed and manufactured in-house, covering temperature screening, full-body sanitization, and data capture in a single unit.

Rwanda2020DeployedPublic Health · GovernmentHardware + Embedded systems

Built fast, when it mattered

Designed and deployed at the height of the pandemic — not months of procurement.

A contribution, not a contract

No invoice, no fee. SMS Group designed and built this gate as our contribution to Rwanda's COVID-19 response.

Owned and operated by RBC

The units belong to RBC and the Ministry of Health — deployed and maintained for public use.

The situation

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rwanda needed a way to screen and sanitize people entering public facilities without relying on manual temperature checks and hand-sanitizer stations. RBC and the Ministry of Health needed a unit that could be deployed nationally, that combined screening and sanitization in one pass, and that could be designed and built locally rather than imported.

What it does

Temperature screening

Non-contact infrared temperature check on every person passing through the gate

Full-body sanitization

Automated misting sanitizes a person head to toe in a single pass

Data capture

Each pass logged — screening and sanitization events recorded for facility records

In-house hardware

Designed and manufactured in Rwanda — not an imported or white-labelled unit

Photos

Video coverage

Live on Rwanda TV (RTV)

Showcase at RBC HQ

Press coverage

The Independent (Uganda)

"Rwanda To Install Automatic Disinfection Gates At All Public Facilities To Curb Covid-19 Spread"

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Avant (Malawi)

"Rwanda Launches an Auto-Sanitising Gate"

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The New Times Rwanda

"Coverage of the gate's launch, posted to the paper's official account."

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RBC — official channel

"Official post from the Rwanda Biomedical Centre's own account."

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Rwanda TV (RTV)

"Live TV segment featuring the SMS Group team and the gate in operation."

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Africa World News

"International coverage of the gate's launch in Rwanda."

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What sets this project apart

Government partnership

Co-delivered with RBC and Rwanda's Ministry of Health — not a self-published product

Hardware + software

A physical unit with embedded sensors and screening logic — not just an app

Designed in Rwanda

Engineered and manufactured in-house — first unit of its kind built locally

National TV coverage

Featured live on Rwanda TV and covered by press across the region

Why SMS Group

When RBC needed a screening and sanitization unit that could be built locally and deployed fast, we designed and manufactured it in-house — hardware and software together. It became the first of its kind in Rwanda.

Today

✓RBC and the Ministry of Health own the deployed units

✓Designed and manufactured by SMS Group, in Rwanda

Start a project →← All work

Co-delivered with RBC and Rwanda's Ministry of Health — RBC was a government partner on this project, not an ongoing partner organisation.

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