Information and Communication Technologies in Rwanda ( ICTÂ Rwanda)
The hard work of government can be greatly realized in its ambitious initiatives such as the ICT infrastructure in Rwanda, something that will make Rwanda become a regional ICT hub soon. The improvement in mobile phone and fibre optic networks and well as computer usage and internet access will enable both international public and private firms on enhance development in a country that once faced a shattered economy in 1994.
Named East Africa’s number one ICT nation by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Rwanda has benefited from ICT-based investments by lucrative international players such as Microsoft, Nokia, and Terracom.
The country’s current ICT sector budget is on par with nations of the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a grouping of 30 rich nations, at 1.6 percent, far above the African average.
“One of the hard pieces of work lies in maintaining both the investment and especially the policy focus to get maximum benefit. President Paul Kagame’s government has done that very well, encouraging both smart ICT policies and in general supporting a more business-friendly environment,” Andrew Mack, former World Bank employee and regular contributor to East Africa Business Week, told IPS.
While the Vision 2020 framework addressed agricultural, industrial, and social elements as well, Rwanda’s lack of port access, inflated airfreight rates, and surrounding instability provoked the Rwandan government to invest in a knowledge-based economy with ICT as its cornerstone.
Launching programmes in scientific research and education, technological innovation, and telecommunications distribution, Vision 2020 aimed to produce “highly-skilled scientists and technicians to satisfy the needs of the national economy” that would be integrated into the larger framework of economic and social development for the greater Rwandan population.