To increase their footprint in Africa, CrimsonLogic, a partner of RwandaOnline Platform Limited (ROPL) and a leading provider of eGovernment products and services, has opened a local office in Kigali. With its headquarters in Singapore, the office will become the firm’s regional hub for business operations and project implementations throughout the African region,. The firm has been on the African continent for more than 10 years, implementing various digital government and trade-focused projects in countries such as Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, and Namibia. The opening will give CrimsonLogic a greater presence in Rwanda, further supporting the firm’s partnership with the Rwandan government in helping them to achieve their goals. Rwanda is focused on transforming into a knowledge-based economy by 2020. One of the goals of Vision 2020, the Rwandan government development program, includes developing skilled human capital, especially in information technology. CrimsonLogic started working with Rwanda in 2014 and launched Irembo in 2015, the eCitizen portal that helps Rwandan citizens get government services online. During the opening ceremony, Eugene Wong, Chairman of CrimsonLogic said they are very happy to open their Rwanda office and that they will continue working with the Government of Rwanda. “We are committed to continue contributing to Rwanda’s vision to be a knowledge-based economy by 2020,” he said. “This marks a major milestone in our relationship with Rwanda and the great Africa continent. Rwanda has an investment-friendly environment for Singapore companies and is also a very clean city. The country welcomes Singapore companies as they trust us to bring both innovation and quality in partnerships towards building their digital economy,” Wong added. While giving his speech broadcasted from singapore, Saw Ken Wye, CEO of CrimsonLogic said that opening the office in Rwanda came as a natural next step in their firm’s presence and operations across the African continent. “As we grow from strength to strength in Rwanda, we shall continue to expand across the African continent, Kigali is the optimal base and hub for our operations and project implementations for us to strengthen our position in East Africa, and look forward to replicating the success we’ve experienced here to other African nations,” said Wye. In addition to software solutions that enhance greater interactivity between citizens, businesses and the government, CrimsonLogic has also collaborated with local agencies to supplement the local IT talent pool. Rwanda Technology Associate Programme (RTAP) has seen CrimsonLogic invest in close to 10 local graduates annually. The programme gives them on-the-job training and practical working experience on real-life projects, and offers them gainful employment and professional certification in due course. According to the Chief executive of Irembo, Clement Uwajeneza the partnership with CrimsonLogic has been beneficial in helping the country achieve its vision to transform Government service delivery. “Together with ROPL and Rwanda Development Board, IREMBO has brought significant impact in how our citizens engage with their government, and is significantly contributing to Rwanda’s transition to a knowledge economy. We are happy that CrimsonLogic has chosen Rwanda as its base for its East African operations, and see it as a testament of the strong working relationship we managed to cultivate over the years. We wish the firm lasting success in Africa, and for our partnership to grow from strength to strength,” said Uwajeneza. CrimsonLogic, as a partner to RwandaOnline Platform Limited (ROPL), was tasked to build the technology powering IREMBO – a digital platform for all Government-to-Citizen (G2C) and Government-to-Business (G2B) eService transactions in partnership with ROPL and Rwanda Development Board ICT Department (RDB ICT). To date, IREMBO has digitized 86 government services, which were previously done manually. The platform conducts more than 200,000 online transactions on a monthly basis, enabling better interactions between citizens, businesses and the Rwandan government. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
