Rwanda has been selected as the host for the Africa CyberTech conference and exhibition, a gathering that will bring together top executives, researchers and other stakeholders in the area of cybersecurity and innovation.
The meeting will take place in March next year.
This was announced following the signing in Kigali of an MoU between Nelly Mukazayire, the CEO of Rwanda Convention Bureau and the organisers of the meeting represented by Amir Rapaport.
Rwanda will be the first-ever country in Africa to host the Summit, since its inception in 2014, succeeding last year’s event that was hosted in Tokyo, Japan.
Cybertech is organised by Cyber Global Events, an Israeli firm and features discussions and meetings by speakers from a wide range of sectors including critical infrastructure, insurance, retail, health and government, defence, R&D, manufacturing, automotive, among others, according to a report released last year.
From Tel Aviv and Rome to Tokyo, Singapore, Panama, and more, cyber tech conferences and exhibitions serve as the go-to place for all the latest updates on innovations, threats, and solutions facing the global cyber arena.
Rapaport said that Rwanda was up against many countries that bid to host the event but it was chosen due to the efforts the country has made towards digitalization.
"There were requests from other countries to host Cybertech Africa however we chose Rwanda after we were impressed and convinced by the vision set by the leadership of the country and by the excellent performance of the different agencies here,” he said.
"On behalf of the government of Rwanda, we want to express our gratitude for choosing Rwanda as a destination such a massive and fruitful summit, and more so the first that is hosted in Africa,” Mukazayire said after the signing.
The signing of the deal was witnessed by the Paula Ingabire, the Minister for ICT and Innovation, and the Israeli Ambassador to Rwanda, Ron Adam.
Networking hub
She added that "The summit should not be perceived as a conference but rather a hub; a networking opportunity for all the stakeholders and companies that will come from all over the world, policymakers, to work towards sharpening digitalization in Africa”
Ambassador Adam pointed out that there could be no better place to invest and promote development than Rwanda, saying Rwanda has enormously been supportive, and ready to engage into cybersecurity.
"I am very proud to bring an Israeli company to Rwanda which will produce the first-ever cyber tech conference and exhibition to Africa which will take place here in Kigali and make Rwanda the gate for Africa in ICT IoT and Cyber. Bringing here companies and investors from the Continent and beyond” Ron said.
Speaking on behalf of the Ministry of ICT, Gordon Kalema, Director General for e-government services coordination emphasized that this is one way of that will support Rwanda’s ambition to becoming an ICT hub, through cybersecurity.
"Hosting such a summit that will reflect on what nations (African countries) are doing in digitisation efforts, it will also give them a platform to assess what has been implemented for cybersecurity, and how safe they are”.
editor@newtimesrwanda.com