Digital innovation a vehicle for transformation - Kagame

Digital innovation has the potential to transform the lives of ordinary citizens, help eliminate poverty as well as spur socio-economic growth across the African continent, President Paul Kagame has said. “Digital innovation means ideas do not have borders and cannot be landlocked.” He was speaking yesterday at the official closure of the two-day ‘Smart Rwanda Days’ forum held under the theme, Digitising Rwanda, in Kigali. The President noted that digital innovation and ICT in general were one of the approaches that could significantly bring about the desired growth and development on the continent. The President also emphasised the importance of regional integration in achieving progress. “We may act Rwandan but think African and beyond. Our thinking is about crossing borders while benefiting others and from others.” The President underlined the importance of achieving wealth creation and not just poverty alleviation. “Alleviating poverty is like treating a patient who doesn’t get critical, doesn’t die and remains in the same state. An enterpreneur is one who does not alleviate poverty but creates wealth,” Kagame told hundreds of delegates drawn from different part of the world. President Kagame explained that it was because of the right mindset that Rwanda and the region had made and continue to make investments in ICT infrastructure development, education, capacity building and awareness, which has in turn helped unlock digital innovation. The next big thing after making the necessary investments, Kagame said, lay in staying on course. “Through these innovations and investments we are making, we have laid a firm foundation as Rwanda or as East African countries or as a continent. It is, therefore, important to stay the course in the transformation journey,” the President said. He noted that positive progress had been achieved across the continent in ICT and added that with the right actions,this century could be Africa’s century. “There is a saying that this is Africa’s century. The question is why wasn’t last century Africa’s century? I believe it has always been Africa’s day. It’s up to Africans to seize the day and make our aspirations a reality.” The Secretary General of International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Dr Hamadoun Toure, echoed Kagame’s remarks on the progress made in recent years in ICT, saying that Africa was catching up with the rest of the world and that the next step would be building a knowledge-based society. Toure, whose time at the helm of the UN agency ends later this year, said that during his two terms he had seen the continent transform in numerous ways thanks to ICT. “We have the right resources, the younger generation who we believe in, and a framework that was established and detailed in the Smart Africa Manifesto,” Toure said. Internet users surf at K-Lab in Kigali. (File) Kagame used the occasion to pay tribute to Toure for his contribution in advancing ICT at the international level, saying the Malian national had made Africa proud. Both Kagame and Toure were panelists in the final session of the summit, alongside youthful participants Alline Kabbatende, the general manager-business operations, Rwanda Online, and Jean Niyotwagira, founder of Torque Ltd, a data management firm. The event, which brought together representatives of government, development partners, policy makers, private sector and start-ups, featured topics such as digital payments, internet governance, internet economy, open data and content localisation, among others. The forum also brought together members of the Smart Africa Steering Committee which was established during last year’s first ever Transform Africa Conference in Kigali. In their meeting yesterday, the committee laid out mechanisms to establish a scholarship fund, dubbed ‘Smart Africa Scholarship Fund’ to which Rwanda, South Sudan and ITU pledged $200,000 each. The committee also established a caretaker secretariat which will report on the progress of the Smart Africa Initiative in three weeks. In attendance were also some primary school children drawn from public schools that received laptops under the Government-backed One Laptop Per Child initiative. The President later spared time to interact with the pupils who were using their laptops at the event.

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Digital innovation a vehicle for transformation - Kagame