Telecom actors gather in Kigali to discuss Africa’s digital revolution
Kigali, July 17, 2018 – Over one thousand CEOs and senior executives from leading mobile companies and players across the digital ecosystem are gathering in Kigali to discuss Digital Revolution in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The three-day event dubbed Mobile 360 Series – Africa discusses issues such as how the digital future will socially and economically impact communities and industries; how the mobile industry will work to ensure inclusion for all and how innovation is bringing about positive change.
In his opening remarks, Rwanda’s Minister of Infrastructure, Amb. Claver Gatete, showcased how technology has transformed people’s lives across the continent in different sectors, including banking and payment systems, trade, health, education, among others.
“In Rwanda for example, technology has boosted our financial inclusion from 48% in 2008, to 72% in 2012, to 89% in 2016. Moreover, it has facilitated regional trade, whereby trucks from Mombasa to Kigali through the Northern corridor are not checked at any entry points because they are tracked electronically” Minister Gatete said.
Minister Gatete added that most of government services have been digitized and can be accessed online. This reduced both the time and resources spent seeking and delivering services to ordinary citizens and therefore playing a major role in fast-tracking the country’s economic growth.
Recent figures from Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) indicate that the rate of Mobile Telephone penetration in Rwanda climbed to 76.6 percent in March 2018. Also, as of March 2018, the number of mobile money transactions stood at 84.23 million with the value of 692.5 billion Rwandan francs. The 4G LTE Technology has been rolled out countrywide – with a 92.5% geographic coverage – and reaching 95.1% of the population.
