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ICTs propelling Rwanda forward RURA: Regulating for Growth Smart Africa: Uniting to Digitise

RWANDA'S ICT REVOLUTION @2016 EDITION

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Table of Contents

07-26: 65-71

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KEY SECTOR HIGHLIGHTS

TELECOMS DRIVING DIGITAL GROWTH

ICT SECTOR REVIEW

73-80:

TOWARDS A CASHLESS ECONOMY

81-96:

ICT Sector Review Publication 2016

This book is published by THE LINK PUBLICATIONS LTD. PROJECT COORDINATOR: HERBERT LUGABA EDITOR: EMMANUEL RUTAYISIRE SALES & MARKETING: FRED NDOLI

27-64: PROVIDING ICT SOLUTIONS IN A FAST PACED ECONOMY

REGULATION, INSTITUTIONS & SERVICE DELIVERY

97-112:

CONTRIBUTORS: NGABIRE EMMANUEL HODGE SEMAKULA PHOTOGRAPHY: CYRIL NDEGEYA NGABIRE EMMANUEL GRAPHICS & CREATIVE DESIGNER: RONNY KAHUMA KAHROY

LINKING THE LAST MILE All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying or storing in any medium by electronic means) without the prior written permission of the copyright holders. Application for the copyright holders’ written permissiom to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publishers.

ICT SECTOR REVIEW

3

“The Smart Rwanda Master Plan (SRMP) is about connecting, innovating and transforming Rwanda into a knowledge society. Its pillars range from service-oriented, modern, accountable, real-time (SMART) agriculture, finance, trade and industry, health, education, government, and women and youth empowerment in technology…

Our vision is for our people to have access to the relevant technologies, opportunities and solutions they need as we become an ICT hub.”

-MYICT Minister, Jean-Philbert Nsengimana

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ICT SECTOR REVIEW

Editor’s note

ICTs: Pursuing the last mile

R

wanda is firmly on course to enter the Smart Age. The role of ICTs as an enabler of development is now taken for granted. Seven in ten Rwandans have access to a mobile phone; the country boasts 6.5 million mobile wallets, and mobile cash transactions whether for money transfer or paying for utilities are the norm rather than the exception.

Internet penetration stands at 28% and growing fast, as Rwanda pursues e-governance; and an ever-growing number of services can now be accessed by Rwandans from the convenience of their smartphones.

So rapid has been the ICT sector’s growth, that it posted a 25% climb in 2014, while the rest of the economy grew at an impressive 7.1%. Moreover, ICT’s contribution to GDP was valued at 3% representing more than all agriculture exports combined.

In this ICT Sector Review Publication 2016 titled “Rwanda’s ICT Revolution”, we bring you a compilation of the major strides that have been made by Rwanda’s ICT sector, and track its role in propelling the country towards attaining its development goals, particularly as expressed in its guiding Vision 2020.

In the opening pages, you will find reviews and updates on major undertakings spearheaded by the Government that are putting the infinite possibilities offered by the fast growing tech sector at the service of ordinary Rwandans; from accessing government services electronically, equipping Rwandan children with

relevant skills for the information age to improvements in agriculture and health.

Next we do sample of major national and regional institutions that have embraced use of ICTs to accelerate economic growth and improvements in service delivery to the citizens.

Find out how this has helped Rwanda achieve a seamless immigration/ emigration procedure, streamlined the compilation of election results in record time and built a credible national identification system.

In the subsequent sections are the private sector partners who are the sector’s engine of growth: telecom companies, internet wholesalers, software solutions developers, banks and fuel companies that are going smart, hotels and hardware vendors.

We hope that readers will take away something of value: an overview of strides made in the sector and a little encouragement for the sector players who have together made this progress possible.

I wish you all good reading.

Emmanuel Rutayisire, Editor

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Expert's View

A Case for a Harmonised Regional ICT Policy Framework in East Africa

I

t is evident that in the last two decades, Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) have not only revolutionalised the way people and organizations interact and do business but have significantly contributed to the socio-economic development of many countries.

This phenomenon has been attributed to the fact that ICTs are not only a bedrock and facilitator of social, economic and cultural development but opens new opportunities to countries due to its catalytic role in the various sectors.

If countries are to benefit from the immense opportunities created by ICTs, it is necessary for them to put in place an enabling and conducive ICT policy and regulatory framework which will attract private sector investment in the ICT industry.

The trend the world over has been for countries to establish sub-regional economic communities to promote political, social and economic integration benefit from the economies of scale created and enhance their competitiveness in the global economy.

In East Africa, the East African Community (EAC) was established in July 2000 to among other things promote regional cooperation and integration among the five Partner States, establish a Common Market, a Monetary Union and subsequently a Political Federation.

The Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community obliges Partners States to harmonise and adopt common policies with a view to creating conditions favorable for regional economic development. It is in light of this that harmonisation of ICT policy and legal frameworks in the five Partner States has been one of the focus area of EAC.

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ICT SECTOR REVIEW

Regional integration in East Africa certainly requires the support of a holistic and harmonized ICT policy and regulatory framework that will not only promote investment in the region but will take care of the needs and priorities of the five EAC Partners States.

The East African Communications Organisation (EACO) whose broad objective is to promote cooperation among the EAC Partner States through the harmonization of ICT policy and regulatory framework in the region has through its programmes contributed to EAC’s ICT policy development and harmonization process.

As to whether a harmonized regional ICT policy approach is beneficial to the region, I wish to point out on the outset that harmonized ICT policies and regulations will enhance the realization and sustenance of the Common Market in East Africa.

Furthermore, a harmonized regional ICT policy framework will lead to the creation of a level playing field in the regional ICT market which will not only attract investment in the ICT sector but will enable the people of East Africa to access the desired ICT services.

In addition to the above, a harmonized regional ICT policy framework would help the region to adopt a common approach to emerging issues in the ICT sector like Internet governance, cyber security, digital inclusion, OTTs and Internet of Things (IOTS) among other others.

It is also true that harmonization of ICT policies in East Africa will help Partners States not only to take advantage of the economies of scale created by the community but will facilitate harmonized planning and management of the scarce resources needs by the ICT industry.

Last but not least, harmonized ICT policies and regulations will not only contrib-

By Hodge Semakula Executive Secretary East African Communications Organisation (EACO)

ute to the development of common standards but will facilitate development and implementation of regional ICT projects/ initiatives like the EAC Broadband ICT Infrastructure Network (EAC-BIN) and the East African Internet Exchange System Project being coordinated by EACO. In conclusion, I wish to observe that the drive for a single market in East Africa and the recent push for broadband connectivity within the region, provides a case for EAC Partners States to harmonise their ICT policy and regulatory frameworks in order not only to take advantage of the opportunities created by the digital revolution but also ensure digital inclusion for the people of East Africa.

Key Sector Highlights Powering Rwanda’s socio-economic transformation towards a knowledge economy, via innovative, informationdriven and ICT enabled solutions.

ICT SECTOR REVIEW

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ICT

POWERING RWANDA’S GROWTH Rwanda has made remarkable progress in the area of ICT over the past few years. According to Mr. Didier Nkurikiyimfura, the former Director General in charge of ICT at the Ministry of Youth, Information and Communication Technology (MYICT), this is not accidental, but a result of careful planning and dedicated work.

S

ome years back, government instituted a number of legal and institutional reforms to create an enabling environment in which the ICT sector could thrive. And, thereafter, you saw roadsides being dug up to lay fiber. Now here we are, accessing services in finance, government and so forth from our tablets,” he says.

From the surface, it is a story told with much simplicity and humility. But the story of ICTs development in Rwanda and how it is changing lives is remarkable. On the whole, what is going in this particular sector is a typical replica of developments across the board.

The history of ICT in Rwanda is young; it is merely 15 years old. Most of the innova-

tors at K-Lab, the country’s ICT incubation centre never witnessed the horrors of the genocide or other forms of insecurity.

Commonly referred to in Kigali as “the fruits of the liberation”, their biggest challenge is not their ethnic identity, but how to make the most of the opportunities the country and the global village offers.

Therefore, the story of breakthroughs in ICT or other sectors in Rwanda is a trickledown effect of 21 years of good leadership.

It is a story facilitated by a gifted attitude at the country’s political pinnacle; of aspiring for what could make its citizens better each day than they were yesterday.

The story of breakthroughs in ICT or other sectors in Rwanda is a trickledown effect of 20 years of good leadership

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ICT SECTOR REVIEW

The ICT Sector is among the largest contributors to GDP growth (3%), and it remains a primary target for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country, attracting investment worth USD 66,354,840 in 2014 alone.

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A brief snapshot

S

ince 2001, government has been pursuing an ambitious road map dubbed “ICT for Development”, and 15 years down the road there have been significant breakthroughs towards making Rwanda, a knowledge-based economy as envisaged in Vision 2020.

The roadmap that was adopted to implement policies and plans that would address Rwanda’s developmental challenges in the information and technology age, in order to accelerate the country’s socio-economic development process, consists of four stage transitions.

The current National Information and Communication Infrastructure (NICI 2015) aims at making ICT contribute significantly to GDP Growth, efficiently run government services, improve business efficiency and productivity and put ICT at the foundation of long term and sustainable economic competitiveness (service economy).

The other three transitions are NICI 1 which focused on creating an enabling environment, NICI 2 on Infrastructure Development and NICI 3 on Service Sector Development.

NICI-2015 has been focusing on five key areas that capture crosscutting national challenges and provides mechanisms through which Rwanda’s ICT vision will be attained. These are: Skills development, Private Sector Development, Community Development, E-Government and Cyber Security.

Similarly, the ICT Sector Strategic Plan of the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy 2013-2018 also focuses on the same key priority sectors. These include: Governance, Health, Education, Agriculture and Finance (and into a larger extent to include tax, business, trade and tourism).

In the last years, good ICT-related progress has been made in these sectors that have a corresponding impact in the lives of the citizenry as envisioned in the ICT for Development (ICT4D) strategy.

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ICT SECTOR REVIEW

Akilah Institute students use computers in class. Rwanda is promoting literacy in ICT across the board. / Photo credit: Akilah Institute

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Investments in ICTs The ICT sector continues to fuel Rwanda's GDP growth. Reports indicate that in 2014 the sector was among the largest contributors to GDP growth (3%), and it remains a primary target for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country, attracting investment worth USD 66,354,840 in 2014 alone.

A

part from the importance of the Telecom Sector in terms of revenue generation to the government, the broader ICT sector is also experiencing growth and gaining prominence.

ICT also enables and advances the delivery of Government services in sectors like governance, education, health care and security. Its significant contribution to economic growth could also be directly observed through investment and job creation in the development, production, and sales of ICT goods and services. And, indirectly through creation and distribution of technologies that enable health, trade and finances, agriculture, retail, and a host of other industries.

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ICT SECTOR REVIEW

Increasingly, different sectors, especially financial institutions and utilities, are digitising their products and services, reducing costs and providing compelling new experiences for consumers.

Service Delivery The Government of Rwanda places a premium on delivery of quality and timely services as an important pillar of good governance. In its annual statistical information of last year, it pointed to the importance of ICT-enabled service delivery.

Also underscored were the notable achievements made in the five priority areas highlighted in the ICT Sector Strategic Plan of the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy 2013-2018: Governance, Health, Education, Agriculture and Finance.

A networked government Currently, some 12 institutions are connected to the National Identification Authority Database using secure online authentication; Traffic Police, RRA, MTN, TIGO, AIRTEL, B.N.R /Credit Reference Bureau and Immigration. Through this secure access, these institutions are able to provide better and quicker services to their constituencies.

G

overnment is using ICTs to track its performance across the board through a centralized business intelligence and analytics system providing historical, current and predictive information on projects across all government institutions. The information provided includes objectives, targets

and performance over a fixed time.

In 2014, government and Rwanda Online Platform Limited started implementation of the first phase of the Rwanda Online platform.

The system went live in mid-2015 enabling these services to be accessed through the platform on the in-service date: Population Registry, Birth certificate, Registration for Driving License exams,

Criminal Record Clearance Certificate, Building permits, Transfer of land title, Land-Subdivision and Issuance of Trading License (Patent).

This integrated public service platform allows government to offer Government to Business (G2B) and Government to Citizen (G2C) services via internet and mobile devices, and reap the rewards of efficiency that come with it.

Rwanda Online platform

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Growth in telecoms sector Significant developments have taken place in Rwanda’s telecommunications sector, which continues to enjoy rapid growth in connections, subscribers and data traffic, and is playing a pivotal role in unlocking socioeconomic progress across the country.

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ICT SECTOR REVIEW

By December 2014, the number of active mobile-cellular phone subscribers stood at

7,747,019 representing

70%

T

he major growth of mobile subscription is mainly due to the increased competition between the incumbent telecom operators, who offer access to data and voice services.

By December 2014, the number of active mobilecellular phone subscribers stood at 7,747,019, representing 70% of the total population, up from 63.5% in December 2013.

This translates to a total of 1,057,861 new subscribers added in a period of 12 months.

Also, Rwanda is ranked 2nd on the continent in the Affordability Report 2015’s index of countries with the most affordable internet.

On the Data segment, the number of internet subscriptions reached 3,111,992, up from 2,068,179 subscriptions in December 2013. This represents an Internet penetration rate of approximately 28% by December 2014. As a result, 35.6 % of the Rwandan population is using Internet through their different devices.

of the total population, up from

63.5% in December 2013.

This translates to a total of

1,057,861

new subscribers added in a period of 12 months.

ICT SECTOR REVIEW

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Airtel's Salma Ingabire demostrates how the e-banking service works

A turnaround in business and finance The number of points of sale (POS) increased by

22% while the volume of POS transactions increased by

88.4% 16

ICT SECTOR REVIEW

T

his sector has perhaps the most remarkable developments in terms of utilization of ICT and value creation.

In the Finance sector, the number of Mobile Money subscribers across all networks has more than doubled from 2, 538, 651 in December 2013 to stand at 6,480,449 in 2014. In December 2014, the number of mobile money transactions reached Frw 691.5 billion, up from the Frw 330.4 billion amount transacted in the previous year.

Growth rates of the payment through modernized systems has been improved in the use of Rwanda Integrated Payments Processing System (RIPPS) in the first quarter of 2014 as customer transactions increased by 30.7% with the value of 2,024 billion in 2014, from 1,549 billion in 2013.

The number of points of sale (POS) in-

creased by 22% while the volume of POS transactions increased by 88.4%.

The number of ATMs increased by 6% while that of number debit cards tripled and credit cards increased by 131%. The volume of ATM transactions reduced by 6.8 % owing to different partnerships between telcos and banks to enable both their clients to cash out from their accounts through their mobile phones and vice versa – which has facilitated bill payments.

These trends indicate a shift in consumer behavior where preference is moving towards use of payment instruments such as mobile banking and ATMs. This is a result of improved financial literacy and payment systems quality. And, secure yet interfaced mobile financial services ecosystem that addresses the financial needs of all Rwandans - particularly the under-served.

e-marketing for agriculture The number of farmers using Fertilizer Voucher Management System has seen an increase of 11% from 1,671,599 in 2013 to 1,859,413 in 2014. This has contributed to a more efficient distribution of fertilizers to farmers.

ESoko, a system used to collect and provide

real time market prices for agricultural commodities on Rwandan markets. This system seeks to empower farmers by enabling them to make more informed market pricing decisions in order to improve on their livelihoods.

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Launch of 4G LTE internet In November 2014 Rwanda launched Fourth Generation Long-Term Evolution (4G LTE) internet services. Obviously, the rollout of 4G LTE becomes a catalyst in attaining national development goals by speeding up ICT-based services as well as creating jobs and proving new opportunities to deliver better services across the country.

T

he launch of 4G LTE is one of many activities that our Government is putting in place so as to achieve our middle class, knowledge-based economy targets by 2020,� MYICT Minister Jean Philbert Nsengimana rightly stressed during the launch.

This initiative contributed in part to the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI)’s ranking of Rwanda second on the continent among countries with the most affordable internet.

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ICT SECTOR REVIEW

The launch of 4G LTE is one of many activities that our Government is putting in place so as to achieve our middle class, knowledge-based economy targets by 2020

Smart Rwanda Meetings In the continuous search for mechanisms aimed at attaining accelerated gains in the ICT sector, stakeholders in the industry organize Smart Rwanda Days, an annual event which brings together various actors –industry experts,

policy makers and development partnersto discuss how Rwanda can leverage Information Communication Technologies for economic transformation in line with the country’s development blue prints.

I

n 2014, it was held under the theme “Digitising Rwanda.”

Rwanda is at a critical juncture of its socio-economic development. The country is in the last 5 years of Vision 2020. By the target date, Rwanda hopes to have transformed into a predominantly knowledge-based economy. The role of digitization in achieving this transformation cannot be overstated. The Smart Rwanda Days initiative thus becomes an opportunity to foster the maturity of a digital ecosystem for Rwanda and Africa in general.

ICT SECTOR REVIEW

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ICTs in regional integration

T

hrough adoption of the “One-Network-Area� telecommunications policy in 2014 by the Northern Corridor member states of Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and South Sudan, roaming charges were scrapped and call costs significantly reduced.

The policy applies to telephone calls originating and terminating within the region and mandates members to adopt the following: Exemption of regional calls from surcharges applied by member states on international incoming calls. No additional charges to subscribers on account of roaming within the region.

With the adoption of a one network tariff in the Northern Corridor, communications within the bloc have eased, with a correlating positive effect on business.

Internet in buses

T

his February, the City of Kigali in partnership with the Ministry of Youth and ICT, Rwanda Utilities and Regulatory Agency (RURA), olleh Rwanda Networks (oRN), Telecom Network Solutions Provider Ltd (TNSP), RFTC, Kigali Bus Service and Royal Express, officially launched the Internet Bus Project as part of the Smart Kigali initiative.

The initiative aims at improving the lifestyles of the city dwellers and visitors through use of ICT for better service delivery, by providing free Wi-Fi access in public places including public transportation, among other things. The free Wi-Fi should provide genuine benefits to people on the move in terms of business continuity, entertainment and staying connected.

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ICT SECTOR REVIEW

ICTs in regional integration

Impact on education

In the Education sector, the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) program has played a key role in enhancing education through introduction of technology in primary schools. It also allows primary school students early access to computer skills and computer science understanding while expanding their knowledge on specific subjects through online research or content hosted on servers.

T

o build on the gains made by OLPC, a new initiative dubbed “One Identity per child” that emphasizes a teaching model and allows students to get more familiar with computer usage was introduced.

To this end, schools will be equipped

with “smart classrooms” embedded with internet connectivity in order to give a more comprehensive learning experience.

In November 2014, the Government of Rwanda signed an agreement with Positivo BGH put up a production plant of laptops, computers, tablets and other electronic gadgets in Kigali.

Rwanda’s education system is moving toward a student-centric model, supported by the integration of technology. The use of technology enables better teaching and learning with students using digital, multimedia-rich, interactive lessons to facilitate self-paced and collaborative learning.

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The percentage of health centers connected to the internet remained at

93.8% However, increase in the number of clinical emergencies supported through Rapid SMS is

25% while that of patients at community level tracked using Rapid SMS reached 173,131 by December 2014 up from 158,510 in 2013, which makes an increase of

9%

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ICT SECTOR REVIEW

ICTs supporting health sector The health sector has continued to utilise its tremendously successful Rwanda Health Management Information System (R-HMIS) in each of the country’s over 500 health facilities in the past two years.

S

ince the roll out of the initial system, many modules have been added, including death audit reporting for all maternal, Neonatal, and child deaths; Community Health Information System; eTB-a patient level system for tracking MDR (multi-drugresistant) TB patients, as well as the HIV reporting and Disease surveillance system.

The percentage of health centers connected to the internet remained at 93.8%. However, increase in the

number of clinical emergencies supported through Rapid SMS is 25%, while that of patients at community level tracked using Rapid SMS reached 173,131 by December 2014 up from 158,510 in 2013, which makes an increase of 9%.

Collaborative programs of practicebased initiatives have streamlined intake, improved communication, reduced gaps in referrals and services and reduced duplicate information collection among health care service providers.

Drones delivering medical supplies Early this year, the Government of Rwanda signed an agreement framework with Zipline Inc., an American robotics company to implement the first autonomous system for the delivery of blood products across the country.

Application of cutting edge technology to allow supply chains to operate independently of existing infrastructure

represents a huge opportunity for Rwanda.

And, this is one of the many initiatives that government is putting in place in line with the Smart Rwanda Master Plan 2020.

Mr. Keller Rinaudo, CEO of Zipline: “In automating their supply chain using unmanned aircraft, Rwanda is investing in innovative technology that will improve public health services and save lives.�

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SMART RWANDA MASTER PLAN (SMRP) Facilitating socioeconomic growth through efficient ICT use

Key target achievements for SRMP Vision 2020 Goals:

Until 2000 social stability

Growth

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ICT SECTOR REVIEW

Growth

• Services > 60% contribution to GDP • Achieve sustainable GDP growth of 11.5%

Network Readiness Index

50th

Global competitiveness Index

30th

e-Gov. Development Index

70th

• Enhance national competitiveness based on ICT • Successful execution for fostering new business

Government Broadband Index

40th

ICT Development Index

80th

Global Cyber Security Index

40th

• Efficiency through optimisation of resources via ICT • Efficiency via enhancing national ICT execution capability

Efficiency

• Poverty reduction to <30% • 2M new Off-farm jobs created • Literacy rate > 80% • Life expectancy > 66 yrs.

Beyond 2020

• Economic growth via various business • Desired nation to live

Efficiency

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International Recognition Rwanda was re-elected a member state of the Council of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for 2014-2018 after earning 110 votes at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Busan, South Korea. Commenting on the development, the Minister of Youth and ICT, Jean-Philbert Nsengimana stressed: â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is an

opportunity to keep contributing to shaping the global ICT for Development agenda.â&#x20AC;?

Rwanda continues to be one of the fastest growing African countries in ICT, from e-commerce and e-services, mobile technologies, applications development and automation.

President Paul Kagame receives the 2014 World Telecommunication and Information Society Award - Geneva, 2014

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ICT SECTOR REVIEW

Institutions â&#x20AC;&#x153;Technology is not just about gadgets, but results on the ground that benefit citizens. It can transform the lives of people who may have never touched a smartphones themselves.â&#x20AC;?-

H.E. Paul Kagame

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RURA:

Regulating for growth

R

URA extends its services to engaging the private sector to invest and guarantees sustainability of services offered. As a result, over the years, the telecommunications sector has witnessed a growing trend, moving from a monopoly market to one in which several players are now operating.

“We also have many internet service providers as well as one wholesale 4G provider licensed by RURA,” says the Agency’s Director General, Maj. Patrick Nyirishema.

RURA works closely with a number of regional and international bodies in regulating for growth in the ICT sector, and represents Rwanda in the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the Commonwealth Educational Organization and East African Communications Organization (EACO).

RURA regards EACO as instrumental in organization and harmonization of policy and regulation across the various segments of the ICT sector in the EAC region.

Indeed, RURA hosts the EACO headquarters, and the two bodies even share premises, a symbol of an intimate partnership. Maj. Nyirishema credits this good partnership for a number of successes, notably the successful migration from ana-

Director General, Maj. Patrick Nyirishema

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ICT SECTOR REVIEW

There are few public institutions that are responsible for developing the ICT sector, one of them being the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA).

As a regulator, RURA is responsible for putting in place a regulatory framework for the sector that ensures there is a level playing field for all actors and enforces quality standards. However, some services such as software development are yet to be regulated.

logue to digital, on a regional level.

RURA also cooperates with ITU, an intergovernmental organization involved in standardizing radio communication and ensuring harmony in all areas around the globe especially in matters to do with the spectrum.

“Rwanda has a seat on the governing body of ITU, and so we participate in all activities of the ITU, and contribute to development and also learn from our peers around the world,” he says.

In 2007, the ITU regional head, together with H.E Paul Kagame co-hosted a Connect Africa Summit and in 2013 Rwanda initiated the Transform Africa Summit (TAS). The second edition of TAS was held in 2015 to see how ICT can be utilized to drive economic development across the continent.

The DG RURA receiving from the Executive Secretary of EACO the award for "Best outstanding country regulator" during the 2nd EACO’S ICT exhibition held in Kampala last year

EACO: Promoting regional integration through ICT

T

he East African Communication Organization, EACO is a regional body that brings together ICT regulators, service providers, telecom, broadcasting, courier and other stakeholders in the communication Sector. It also works with training institutions within the five member states of East Africa.

It was started in 2009 with the broad objective to promote regional integration by developing the ICT sector and harmonizing policies and regulatory frameworks in East

Africa. EACO’s Secretariat is headquartered in Kigali, Rwanda, where it is hosted by the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority and enjoys diplomatic status.

Roles of EACO

In line with its objective, EACO’s role consists of promoting capacity and critical skills building to support the ICT sector in East Africa, facilitate universal access to affordable, secure and quality services (digital inclusion).

EACO is an observer in the East African Community, where it acts as a link between

the ICT stakeholders in East Africa and the EAC. “This is one avenue through which we channel our objectives. For instance the recent mobile roaming framework in Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda was harmonized through our efforts in the EAC,” the EACO Executive Secretary Hodge Semakula notes.

Also, EACO coordinates the work and programmes of numerous regional and international organs where EACO is a member or stakeholder like EAC, ATU, PAPU, AUC, ITU, UPU, among others.

ICT SECTOR REVIEW

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Achievements EACO has achieved a lot in terms of innovation, service delivery, capacity building and so on. Major triumphs include pulling off digital migration and registration of SIM cards in the region.

“In fact, many regions are now learning from the operations of EACO, and specialized working groups are following up on our work regarding quality of services, cyber security and E-waste among others,” Mr. Semakula explains.

“EACO has also created a forum for multi-national dialogue which will be hosted in Rwanda this year,” the official says adding that the streamlining of policies has enabled many companies to conduct business within the region.

An annual ICT conference is orga-

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ICT SECTOR REVIEW

Many regions are now learning from the operations of EACO, and specialized working groups are following up on our work regarding quality of services, cyber security and E-waste among others,” Mr. Semakula explains.

nized to discuss specific issues such as broadband, postal, ewaste among others. EACO continues to build the capacity of its members through trainings and workshops, as well as organising regional exhibitions to help members showcase their innovations and services.

Challenges

However, the EACO still faces a number of challenges including an infrastructure and connectivity deficit in the region, limited funding and lukewarm participation by operators in its activities. Also, apart from Rwanda which has improved in the recent past, the region also lacks a coherent postal strategy.

How do I get rid of A Sim Card registered on my ID card?

Most Rwandans are now using mobile phones, a development that has positively impacted on their daily lives.

For instance:

M

essage exchanges both on phone and online.

Exchange of news on job opportunities.

News on (radio and television); Research; Advertising Information on (fire outbreak, and a patient who needs an ambulance Mobile banking transactions; deposits, withdrawals, enquiries on account status;

Paying for various services using mobile phone; utilities, bus fares, television bouquette and others.

Sharing entertaining material like music, video, pictures, name it.

Directing people on a journey and so forth.

31/7/2013, people with mobile phones began registering their Sim Cards as stipulated by amendments to the law no 001/ICT/RURA/2013.

However, the rate at which telephones are enabling us do a number of things with ease, is the same they are being used to facilitate crime, particularly by use of contacts not under their names.

Examples include:

Having a Sim card that corresponds to ID card helps:

Falsehood and rebuff Insulting and causing fear; Manufacturing of illicit drugs; Account hacking, defrauding people in shops and others.

Because of the above mentioned reasons and others not outlined here, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s good for everyone to have their Sim Card corresponding to the ID card as is case when opening a bank account or executing some other important activity.

It is in this respect that from 4/02/2013 to

Telecommunications companies to know their subscribers; People fear committing crimes, and makes tracking of criminals much easier.

In case a Sim Card is lost, a subscribed client can easily do Sim Swap without any hastle because of stored bio-data.

How do I get rid of a Simcard i no long want?

Getting rid of A sim card you no long want, just press *125*1*Sim Card number*I.D number# Then you receive a message three times confirming your sim card deactivation. Of course, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s possible when the sim card number your trying to purge belongs to the same company as one you want to remain with.

In this case, go to a nearby service center of that company and remove it from your Identity card.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Attention!

Like it is advised against leaving your I.D card anywhere so is the case with your sim card.

Accepting someone to register his/ her sim card under your names means you have undertaken consequences of their unacceptable acts.

P.O. Box, 7289, Kigali-Rwanda Tel: +250 252 58 45 62 Toll free: 3988 E-mail: info@rura.rw Website: www.rura.rw

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Smart Africa: Placing ICT at the heart of socio-economic transformation Talking to Dr. Hamadoun Touré, the Executive Director of SMART Africa Secretariat at his office in Kigali one is immediately struck by his optimism.

“Smart Africa was conceived by African leaders. It is chaired and guided by President Paul Kagame.

Rwanda is setting the shining example of ICT developments.

Under this kind of leadership you can only succeed. The time is ripe for Africa,” says Dr. Touré.

Dr. Touré, formerly Secretary General of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), is the first occupant of the office, and his work is cut out- an assignment that is big by any measure: accelerating the socio-economic development of Africa through ICTs, nationally and at continental level.

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President Paul Kagame

T

he inaugural Transform Africa Summit held in Kigali, Rwanda from 28th-31st October 2013 culminated in the adoption of the SMART Africa Manifesto in which seven African Heads of States committed to jointly accelerate socio-economic development through ICTs nationally and on the continental level.

SMART Africa’s agenda is to usher Africa into a Knowledge-based economy by fast-tracking uptake of measures like e-government and Smart cities, sustainable data and measurement for development, cyber security, green economy, entrepreneurship, youth innovation and job creation, high-tech parks and capacity building, among other flagships.

Smart Africa Alliance

Capacity building and skills development

Key Objectives

Promote Inspiring Technology Business and Leaders of innovation the future development

Africa as a Increase the producer position of of ICTs, Not Africa in key just a mere rankings consumer (ITU/MIS, WEF/NRI, UN/e-Gov)

A big investment

These causes, while noble, will require enormous human and financial resources to pull off successfully. Already, there are plans to mobilise a whopping USD 300bn of investments over the next 10 years, a figure Dr. Touré believes is attainable if the parties concerned can put their heads together to find ways to achieve this valuable initiative for Africa.

“Considering the value of investments into ICTs since the Connect Africa Summit in 2007, this is not too much money. I am very sure it will be raised,” Dr. Touré said in an interview.

In Rwanda alone, the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) estimates the value of investments in the ICT sector at US$ 150 million in the last two years.

We have many priorities in Africa, and it would be fair to say ICT is the priority of the priorities - President Ali

Connect Africa: A success

The Connect Africa Summit held in Kigali in 2007, was sponsored by a number of multilateral organisations and the Government of Rwanda.

Dr. Touré, the then Secretary General of ITU, believes the leadership of President Paul Kagame is setting an example in Africa that other continents could follow.

Following the successful “Connect Africa”, ITU was encouraged to organize Connect Asia, America, and Commonwealth Independent States and Arab States.

The Summit framed the Connect Africa programme around five goals, to ensure that Africa makes the most of broadband and ICT opportunities. To help achieve these goals, which reflect the challenges and opportunities in the Africa region,

Bongo Dr. Hamadoun Touré major pledges totaling some USD 55 billion were announced during the summit.

And, USD 72billion was raised at the end of the 5 year plan.

A variety of follow-up actions has already been implemented, with beneficial effects. For example, the landing of submarine cables has reduced communication costs. Also, the expansion of regional fibre networks and national backbones has increased the penetration of mobile broadband services.

The mobile industry has invested more than USD 20 billion, despite the global financial difficulties since the summit.

And, ITU has implemented a USD 6 million project on the Harmonization of ICT policies in Sub-Saharan Africa (HIPSSA).

A question of leadership

According to Dr. Touré, Africa’s biggest challenge in the past has been leadership. Proponents of this school of thought rightly argue that most of the countries

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(largely in Asia) that have made it were once on equal footing with their African counterparts who continue to lag behind in the ICT sector, as in other areas of the economy. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have been fortunate to travel widely to the countries that are very developed and see people who have done their part. I go to Japan; I go to South Korea which was at the same level of development with Senegal or Mali in 1953, but look where they are now. How did they make it? Leadership,â&#x20AC;? he shares, expressing a view that is held by many.

Smart Africa leaders are today showing their commitment to move together.

Smart Africa is a shared vision of African leaders under the chairmanship of President Paul Kagame. Like minded Presidents are pushing together the implementation. They have made it clear they want Africa to go far and go fast and go together.

ICT gives the opportunity to have a common tool to help all sectors of our social, economic and political development agenda.

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It is this shared vision that gives birth to strategic initiatives embedded in the SMART Africa flagships through the endorsement of the SMART Africa Manifesto by all African Union Heads of State and Government at the 22nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the AU in Addis Ababa.

SMART Africa Manifesto

From 29th - 31st, October 2013 the Government of Rwanda and ITU co-hosted the Transform Africa Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, to evaluate progress in implementing the Connect Africa goals and to leverage achievements.

Heads of State and Government present at this summit adopted the SMART Africa Manifesto in which they committed themselves to providing leadership in accelerating sustainable socio-economic development through affordable access to broadband and information and communication technologies (ICT).

SMART Africa is a bold and innovative

Broadband gives us the ability to leapfrog and catch up with the rest of the world - President Uhuru Kenyatta

President Kenyatta greets President Keita of Mali during the meeting in Addis Ababa. approach towards accelerating sustainable socio-economic development in Africa through affordable access to broadband and appropriate use of ICT. The initiative will help Africa realign its agenda to address contemporary challenges by harnessing emerging mobile and broadband technologies.

Introducing the manifesto, Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda, challenged African leaders to check their understanding of the power of ICT. “Do we believe that ICT are a central part of the things we need to consider in overall transformation, and not just a single entity?

Do we understand the full dimension of ICT and the importance of ICT in supporting and driving progress and success in other sectors?” he asked.

A novelty of the manifesto is the prominence it gives to the private sector. African leaders agreed to put the private sector first. They reaffirmed the unique ability of the private sector to increase investment, drive job creation, increase productivity and foster innovation. This places the manifesto at the heart of the ICT agenda in Africa.

One of the flagships at the heart of SMART Africa is youth employment through mentorship and scholarships, creating opportunities that enable young people to be leaders in the real sense of the word – more specifically by being able to create jobs for themselves.

“No dream is too big. Our youth ought to know that not even the sky is the limit.

However, this kind of ambition takes good leadership. What we are creating is an eco-

Minister Mushikiwabo and Dr. Touré at the signing of the host agreement.

Smart Africa Manifesto The principles To put ICT at the centre of our national socio-economic development agenda To improve access to ICT especially Broadband To improve accountability, efficiency and openness through ICT To put the Private Sector First To leverage ICT to promote sustainable development

system of software engineers and developers, entrepreneurs, leaders and ensuring that good things evolve,” Dr. Touré asserts.

He is confident that a focus on the big picture is what is shaping Africa’s digital transformation agenda.

Setting up in Rwanda “When I came to take up office a few months ago, my first assignment was to get the office up and running. But I was shocked when by noon of that same day this office in which we are seated was ready and paper work on host agreement was being seamlessly worked on.

There is a spirit of urgency in Rwanda that you don’t find elsewhere, and I know all this is because of the leadership,” says Dr. Touré speaking from his office temporarily hosted in the City of Kigali complex.

The Rwandan government has long been one of the more enlightened in Africa when it comes to promoting the growth of technology, and has played a crucial role in boosting tech innovation and allowing the country to become one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

“In Rwanda, all advances such as Klab (incubation centre), 4th Generation internet, cyber security, among other flagships did not happen by accident, but are a result of visionary leadership, hard work and proper planning,” says Mr. Didier Nkurikiyinfura, Head of Technology and Innovation at Smart Africa.

“Africa has been following but now we want to lead. There is no inferiority complex because the leadership is there. I am excited about this. I am very passionate about this; and I know something big is coming,” Toure adds, beaming with positivity.

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NIDA: IT in ensuring secure identification for development Background

The National Identification Agency (NIDA) is one of the major ICT projects implemented by the Government of Rwanda under Vision 2020 not only to ensure the development of the country through improved security and better planning, but also for fast and efficient delivery of services to Rwandans through building a centralized bio data system for citizens. Government of Rwanda was the first country in the EAC region to issue national identity cards to citizens (in digitalized format), and this does not come anyhow but through better planning in material terms and ensuring that suitable IT infrastructure is in place.

N

Pascal NYAMULINDA, Director General of The National Identification Agency

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IDA started as a project through a Cabinet approval of 2006 with implementation of its work starting in 2007, where old paper-based national identity cards that could not adequately and uniquely identify holders and above all compromised many things, including individual safety of Rwandans got replaced with the current one.

The old identity card did not capture unique features of an individual citizen such as fingerprints and in some cases people owned more than one card with different names.

Worse, this type of identification system that had been introduced by colonialists and retained by subsequent regimes intended to arrive at one dangerous objective; entrench the divide-and-rule policy, where emphasis was placed on identifying its holders by their ethnicity instead of biometrics.

During the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, these national identity

An officer at work in ID production room at NIDA offices. cards became powerful means through which the architects of the genocide identified their victims. By the time the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) restored peace, about a million innocent people had been killed â&#x20AC;&#x201C; with these identity cards aiding in identifying the targeted.

New service delivery-oriented IDs

Holistic approaches to development of any kind requires good data. When the Rwandan Government embarked on planning and executing development programmes, providing proper and unique identification of every citizen using their biometric data became a necessity.

The aim is to provide each citizen with a National Identity Card that distinctively shows who they are for easy delivery of services â&#x20AC;&#x201D;a catalyst for national development. Therefore in 2007, the NIDA project was rolled out with the first National Identity Cards issued in 2008. Since then, more than six million people aged 16 years and above have been issued with identity cards.

Improving service delivery

NIDA has also broadened a range of services offered to the public to include making driving licences, foreigners and refugee identity cards

Since the establishment of the agency, NIDA has been working to continuously improve its processes culminating in the development of a strong backup electronic system that guarantees secure registration of identity card holders. The system in place can detect falsification of personal information or anyone trying to register more than onceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;making the system secure.

The major safety feature in this system is that it captures unique features of an individual such as fingerprints. That means that even if some people may have similar names, place and year of birth, or even similar physical features, they can still be identified differently using their biometrics.

NIDA has also broadened a range of services offered to the public to include making driving licences, foreigners' and refugee identity cards.

Furthermore, as part of continuous improvement of service delivery, plans are at advanced stages to introduce chip-backed cards with seven applications including such as the National Identity Card, Passport, Health Insur-

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According to the NIDA Director General, the chipbacked ID is a convenient way of having all your personal information in a single card ance, Social Security number, Tax Identification Number (TIN) and Driving Licence.

The aim is to produce a single card that can be used by a citizen to access many services at the same time. This is the second phase in the development and modernization of the national ID. Unlike the current ID that is mandatory for all persons aged 16 and above, the new one will be optional in the mean time. Holders of the chip-backed ID will have to surrender the other one.

According to NIDA Director General, the chip-backed ID is a convenient way of having all your personal information in a single card. For example, one does not need to carry their driving licence all the time as the chip can only be swiped on a gadget by traffic police to prove that the driver indeed has a valid driving licence.

System integration

Over the last four years, the government is working to integrate the NIDA system with public and private institutions for online identification of citizens.

This is aimed at delivering services to the people faster and more efficiently.

The institutions to be linked are Rwanda

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Bio data of a citizen being captured in the system

National Police, Immigration, the Central Bank, Rwanda Revenue Authority (for paying taxes), Rwanda Development Board (business registration), the Land Centre (for land registration), Rwanda Social Security Board and the Ministry of Labour (for pension issues and to avoid ghost workers).

Other institutions to be linked are the National Electoral Commission (for elections and referenda issues), telecommunication companies (for unique sim card registration to reduce telephone-based crime.)

Registration of sim cards was a decision taken by the East African Community Member countries as part of the measures to reduce telecom-based crime nationally and across borders. “If your sim card is not registered through

the NIDA system, it will not work,” says the Director General of NIDA, Mr Pascal NYAMULINDA. NIDA is also now in charge of civil registration aimed at modernizing and synchronizing the registration process of vital events.

In order to reduce the time one needs to process and acquire an ID, NIDA is working with Rwanda Online, a webbased platform that provides automated and online services to enable online registration and data transfer.

Registration for national ID is decentralized up to the Sector while biometric data collection is at the district level.

Actual printing and issuing of the cards is done in Kigali. The NIDA is now exploring ways of automating data entry and transfer.

Challenges

The system is quite expensive in terms of budget, says the Director General. Therefore, its sustainability demands more money as more people become eligible for the national ID, or need a replacement, while others need to register birth, death and marriage. Sustainability will also require training of more IT people. “We have managed to do all these, but at a very high cost,” NYAMULINDA says, adding, “In our perspective, we have in mind the need to continue training people, and develop applications for the whole system to be able to use it to improve services.”

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Flagship Initiatives in ICT ICT Contribution to GDP

During the fiscal year of 2014-2015, ICT sector has continued to fuel the Rwanda GDP growth with a contribution of up to 3%.

Enabling Infrastructure

4 76.2% 33%+ 4,500 Km + 10 Gbps+ 14 Telecom Operators

Mobile Phone Penetration (Over 8,5m subscribers) Internet Penetration

ICT Investments and Export volumes Performance indicator

Target

Volume of Committed investments 44.4 in the ICT Sector (In Million USD)

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towns with 4GLTE

of Fiber Optic BB BB Capacity

Mobile Payments

Performance indi- Dec. 2013 cator Number of mobile payment subscrib- 2,538,651 ers (in Millions) Number of transactions (In Mil57,147,777 lions) Volume of transactions (In Milliom 330,378 RwF)

Dec. 2014

YoY Growth

6,480,449

155.2%

104,800,000 83.3% 691,500

109.3%

K-Initiative (Japan sponsored) ▪ ▪ Jobs & export focus; ▪▪ Target of 1000 technology jobs out-sourced by Japanese companies to Rwandan companies; ▪▪ Concept jointly developed by ICT Chamber and Japanese entities; ▪▪ Requires RDB to establish appropriate framework and operationalize;

Korea-Sponsored Software Development Initiative meant to accelerate software development by Rwandan companies.

Private Sector Development

Kigali Innovation City: Aimed at creating a space for the development of an ICT-centered learning space, business innovation centre as well as leisure in a holistic manner.

CMU Rwanda Center of Excellence ▪ ▪ Construct the CMU campus; ▪▪ Establish the ICT Center of Excellence ▪▪ Finalise phase 1 roads and utilities installations ▪▪ Establish Innovation Equity Funds ▪ ▪ Angaza Private Equity Fund – Domiciled in Rwanda; ▪▪ Africa Innovation Fund (AIF) – AfDB Initiated; ▪▪ KOICA-sponsored “Innovation Centre” Accelerated 4G LTE national coverage ▪ ▪ 14 towns with 4G/LTE network (Kigali, Muhanga, Kayonza, Rubavu, Musanze, Rusizi, Huye, Gicumbi, Nyagatare, Karongi, Rwamagana, Bugesera, Ngoma and Ruyenzi).

eGovernment Rwanda Online Project

▪ ▪ 5/9 services currently online and working.

▪▪ Awareness to use the Irembo platform (Rwanda online Platform) was done ▪▪ Contract for Infrastructure to support Rwanda Online services at 166 Sector offices (Service Access Points)has been initiated and is to be signed before end of this year.

Document Tracking and Workflow Management System; electronic documents and records lifecycle management System, to improve efficiency, accountability and transparency in the government.

Government Enterprise Architecture ▪ ▪ The project aims at establishing a blue print for the development or procurement of ICT systems across the GoR. Government Command Center ▪ ▪ Business Intelligence and Analytics System provid-

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ing historical, current and predictive information on projects, program performance, and Key performance indicators.

Disaster Recovery Center ▪▪ RDB is implementing a highly secure facility for the development of an ICT disaster recovery centre. The purpose is to host ICT infrastructure to serve as back up to the current national data centre in Kigali which hosts critical Government of Rwanda ICT data and information.

Skills Development

Number of people trained – 395 Number of CMU-Rwanda Graduates – ▪ ▪ Master’s program established since 2012. So far 43 students graduated in MSIT. Currently 62 students are on campus (48 in MSIT and 14 in MSECE). Cost of the program has been revised from 42k to16K to accommodate African students.

▪ ▪ The COE strategic plan and a draft implementation plan have been developed and presented to the joint advisory Board ICT course Certifications - 180

Cyber Security

Establishment of infrastructure security system ▪ ▪ This project aims to protect internal networks and systems against cyber security threats in public and

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privates institutions Establishment of cyber security threat assessment and strategic response center ▪ ▪ Design and Installation of center facilities (Electricity, Systems, Networks and Physical security) were completed Establishment of PKI Certification Authority System ▪ ▪ The PKI project aims to provide PKI Digital Certificate.

CCTV Project

RPPA granted N/O on single source Technical evaluation of the project was completed Financial negotiations ongoing leading to contract signing.

FUTURE PLANNING Smart Rwanda 2020 Master Plan

S

mart Rwanda 2020 Master Plan constitutes in fact the fourth generation of NICI Plans (2016 – 2020). It seeks to build on all previous generations as well as the ICT Sector Strategic Plan (ICT SSP 2013 - 2018) that was prepared to go in tandem with the EDPRS II. SRMP also drew orientation from the Smart Africa Manifesto that was launched during the TransformAfrica Summit in October 2013 where the African Union Heads of State signed the SMART Africa Manifesto in Kigali.

The SRMP therefore derived key initiatives through analysis and assessment from four perspectives: aligning national development vision and strategies, reflecting the achievements of NICI I-III and EDPRS/ ICT SSP, assessment of Rwanda’s

internal and external environment challenges, and the current execution and management performance.

Based on the analysis, three enablers, ICT Capability & Capacity, Governance & Management, and Secured & Shared Infrastructure were identified. Seven pillars were also defined: SMART Agriculture, Finance, Trade & Industry, Health, Education, Government, Women and Youth Empowerment in ICT.

Strategic Projects/Initiatives /Interventions (2016-2017)

Operationalizing the key focus R&D Areas within RISA: ▪ ▪ Internet Of Things ▪ ▪ Big Data and Analytics ▪ ▪ Cyber Security Research ▪ ▪ Creative Industries and Multimedia

▪ ▪ Mobility and Digital Lifestyle Institutional framework strengthening : ▪ ▪ Support the establishment of RISA ▪ ▪ Support the establishment of the NCSA Regional initiatives: ▪ ▪ Northern Corridor Integration Projects ▪ ▪ Central Corridor Integration Projects Events: ▪ ▪ Smart Africa Days 2016 (Focus on the 5 R&D Areas) ▪ ▪ ICT Sectoral Events (Health, Education, Finance, Local government, Finance, Trade and Industry, Women and Youth)

▪ ▪ Develop and roll-out the ICT sector public relations campaign

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ICT for Good Governance in Rwanda

Embracing of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector in Rwanda has demonstrated dramatic growth in the last 10 or so years. And, the advent of affordable mobile telephone handsets, countrywide internet connectivity and recent breakthroughs in education where the young generation has gained good levels of literacy are other factors making IT another enabler in deepening good governance.

Seated (L â&#x20AC;&#x201C; R): City of Kigali Lord Mayor Fidel Ndayisaba, RGBâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Prof. Anastase Shyaka, ICT & Youth minister Jean Philbert Nsengimana, Stephen Rodriques, Country Director/UNDP and Dr Usengumukiza Felicien, Head of Home Grown Initiatives and Governance Research Department at RGB at the official launch of mobile app competitions at Serena Hotel, last year. Standing at the back are the finalists of the Mobile App competitions.

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T

o us ICT is very important because when it comes to service delivery and therefore to governance, it becomes a good instrument to use. When you talk of doing things with speed, better and enhancing accountability, ICT becomes the best tool to embrace,” Prof. Anastase Shyaka, CEO Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) notes.

Prof. Shyaka says his organization embraces ICT because of its huge potential to cater to the country's development needs by providing information to a large number of people and helping them to ensure delivery of basic services.

Also, ICTs offer a platform for collecting data on citizens’ concerns and peer to peer connections for learning from shared experience. Therefore, these attributes make the new age media a motivating catalyst for citizens’ inclusiveness in building the Rwandan democratic society.

Rwanda envisages good governance where delivery of good services to the citizens is a central component a respected position in its pursuit of sustainable development goals.

“The beauty of ICT as one of the enablers in making things happen, is the reason we adopted it as a sub indicator in the measurement of how tenets of good governance like service delivery are being done. ICT is being integrated at policy, strategic set up and from the kind of things being done,” Prof.

Shyaka says.

Last year RGB added a sub indicator under the rule of law where use of ICT as a target upon which you can measure the performance of justice sector is considered.

“As they say, justice delayed is justice denied, so we wanted to first measure how ICT is being used to help the justice sector to increase its capacity in service delivery.

To the justice sector it is about giving quick services to the people, but to us it is about profiling the sector, and when you combine the two you are pushing the justice sector to go ICT. And our view from the mere measure of the Supreme Court, they [justice] are doing well at 72 per cent,” he adds.

Officials say ICT is helping in court management to deal with the problem of backlogs by causing a reduction in turnaround time.

“Because everyone will want to be ranked favourably on the peer performance review, when this element of ICT is included in the indicators it means it will be picked. This is what we have done,” says Prof. Shyaka.

The other important thing is how govern-

An RGB officer at a past community meeting where citizens discuss concerns and make inputs on how they want to be governed. The mobile app will ease such engagements by minimizing on necessity of physical meetings.

Prof. Shyaka hands over a dummy cheque to one of the participants in mobile app competitions. ment offices can deliver things together and how they can leverage on the benefits of ICT by importing them in non ICT sectors, say governance.

Last year, MYICT, One UN, Pivot and RGB signed an MoU called Mobile app which is intended to support service delivery in the public sector. RGB is mandated to monitor service delivery in public institutions and to prepare policy briefs to inform policy makers.

Innovations in ICT therefore, come in handy to support service delivery and there is confidence that mobile apps which were developed by the Rwandan youth will enable the development of innovative ICT programmes to enhance quality service delivery in the public sector.

“This is a major area of interconnection where ICT and good governance are com-

ing together – where innovations in ICT are promoting service delivery,” Prof. Shyaka explains. “Also, there is mobile school of governance whereby we interact with local partners. It is about enhancing problem solving, accountability, participation and empowering the citizenry The citizens don’t come to us but we go to them. We can revolutionalise our outreach approaches through use of ICT,” he goes on to say.

RGB intends to have a Local Governance Monitoring System where information gathered from performance profiles of districts in a number of critical sectors is put on the map for everyone to access – the aim is being to promote a positive competition.

There is a shared agreement in Rwanda that is gaining momentum that ICT is, the ultimate stage where really quality service delivery can happen.

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DGIE embraces ICT to support business growth in a secure Rwanda Ten years ago when Rwanda agreed to host the New Partnership for Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Development (NEPAD) Summit very few took her seriously, and many could be absolved for arguing at the time this was an ambition overstretched. In the pre-summit days, workers at the then InterContinental Hotel (now Serena Hotel), and the only five star hotel busied themselves day and night to make the venue ready for this big event.

R

ooms for delegates were limited and fears were running high that the skills to attend to such big numbers of high level guests were in limited supply; but thanks to the rare commitment of the organisers, everything to went well.

A number of high level events have been hosted since then, including the 49th annual meeting of the African Development Bank in 2014, which brought together more than 2,500 delegates.

Many other things have rapidly changed few metres from Serena Hotel is Marriott Hotel, another five star that jut opened. In Kimihurura, along the Airport Road there is Radisson Blu Hotel and Convention Centre Kigali, a recent splendid addition to the country's remarkably growing hospitality industry.

On top of all this, Rwanda has ranked impressively at global level in the area of doing business. And, more than ever Rwandans travel in and out of the country with unprecedented ease. Rwanda is not an open prison but a country where

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people go out and explore opportunities â&#x20AC;&#x201C; be it trade, employment or education -because a travel document is not a privilege but a right.

Behind these exciting developments are a number of actors both in government and private business. One of these is the Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration (DGIE) where passion for good work meets recent gains in ICT to accelerate economic growth through delivery of unequalled service.

Rwanda has strategized to be a regional conference hub, partly to diversify its revenues from the tourism sector and position itself as an ultimate destination for business operations. These noble aspirations that started as dreams and are increasingly becoming real, require that government organs work in unison; a robust immigration and emigration service working to facilitate business in a secure environment.

Specifically DGIE is mandated with issuance of travel documents to nationals that include Passports and Laissez-Passers. It is also responsible for regulation of Visas, Work Permits and issuing For-

It is clear that good service delivery as a government policy is actually a catalyst to the overall social, political and economic development

eignersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Identity Cards. It also, manages citizenship processes for foreigners who wish to become Rwandans by citizenship plus registration of International NonGovernment Organizations operating in Rwanda (INGO).

Its other responsibilities include Border Management, handling Refugee Travel Documentation and Registration of Asylum seekers.

While the use of ICT has recently became a way of life in doing things both in public and private organisations in Rwanda, at DGIE it dates back to 2005 with the introduction of e-Immigration, which saw a set of services offered through online platforms. Mr. Anaclet Kalibata, The Director General of Immigration and

Emigration says ICT was embraced following adoption of the government policy which sought to put service delivery at the centre of a successful economic liberalisation.

At the time, other public institutions such as investment and tourism promotion agencies were aggressively showcasing Rwanda as an investment destination and a tourist hub in the region.

However, to achieve this, similar aggressiveness was needed in the ease of processing visas and work permits to potential business people and tourists desirous of coming to or operating from, Rwanda.

Equally challenging was serving an ever increasing number of citizens apply-

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ing to have travel documents mainly passports and laissez-passers to move out for personal business; IT infrastructure has made this challenge a thing of the past. In 2008, the Government adopted a National Migration Policy which has components of Skills and Business attraction programmes, tourism promotion, promotion of the use of ICT in service delivery, and maintaining security and stability of the nation.

It is against this background that the DGIE embarked on introduction of ICT backed solutions which have so far placed it at the top of the league in service delivery.

“It is clear that good service delivery as a government policy is actually a catalyst to the overall social, political and economic development,” says Mr. Kalibata.

In 2005, the DGIE developed “Innovation and Work Improvement Teams” where employees could contribute ideas aimed at bringing innovation n service delivery – inspiring the institution to explore better ways of doing things.

Previously, the immigration processes were a contradiction to the country’s overall aspirations for a seamless business environment model; someone wishing to make a business or tourism trip to Rwanda was required to trave to the nearest Rwandan Embassy or sending their application file by courier. This was not the best way to facilitate the country's conference and business hub dream.

Get Visa and Permits online

Since 2006, an online entry visa facility has been in place and has gone a long way to boost the image of the country from the awkward hang overs of the 1994 genocide against Tutsi to one where things work.

The online entry visa system operates through www.migration.gov.rw. An intending traveller logs in, fills and submits an online application form. An automatic email response acknowledging receipt of the application with details on turnaround time is generated and reference number to enable tracking is also availed.

Within 72 hours, the application is assessed for conformity with Rwandan entry regulations and it is either cleared, declined or more information is requested. This is a virtual office that works 24/7 without limitation of time zones.

With online entry visa, the number of people applying to come to Rwanda has increased from less than 30 appli-

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cants per day in 2006 to200 applicants. in 2015.

Still guided by the spirit of easing business operations, work and resident permits have been combined in a single document issued by one institution contrary to the past scenario where the Ministry for Labour issued work permits while resident permits were issued by DGIE. Currently, this service is offered at all DGIE offices in the country and Rwanda Development Board. The process is automated; it is minimally three days for general applications and a day for investors. All applicants are issued self-tracking numbers automatically to monitor application process. When a permit is issued the client is notified automatically through their emails or mobile phones.

Figures from RDB indicate this improvement has created an upward improvement in the tourism sector; in 2012 alone, over one million foreigners visited Rwanda, jumpstarting from a few hundreds of thousands in the previous years. Increases in the tourism activity has enabled the

sector overtake traditional exports of coffee, tea and minerals in racking in foreign exchange.

Issuance of Passports

Past governments in Rwanda were selective in issuing travel documents to their citizens to the extent some applicants were required to provide bank guarantees. To this effect, only 35,000 Rwandans had been issued with passports in 1994, which is 31 years after the departure of colonial rule in 1963.

This quagmire has been removed.

From 2005, online handling of this process has reduced on time cost from 30 days in 2004 to three days in 2015 for first time passport applicants and one day for renewal. These services are decentralized up to the district level and available at Rwanda’s foreign missions.

Also, a queue management system that ensures that "first come, first served" is in place and at work. And, applicants are provided with an acknowledgment message and a tracking number to track the process of their

(KIA). This allows self-clearance for nationals at the airport who account to more than one third of all passengers – this has enhanced efficiency.

Also, plans are in final stages to introduce an electronic solution for registration of International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGO) through a joint project with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.

The application process for citizenship is also in the process of being fully automated. Social media is being used to interact with the public by responding to their inquiries.

Recognition

application electronically.

Mr. Kalibata says: “If you offer good services, you reduce on corruption tremendously but with IT, this is reduced even more because the physical interface between a client and service provider is very minimal.”

Laissez-Passer

The DGIE issues laissez-passer to Rwandans to facilitate their movement to neighbouring countries. Since 2012, the issuance of machine readable Laissez-Passer, another effort in leveraging on gains in IT to ease service delivery is in place, resulting in a new laissezpasser with a one year validity and user friendly that meets the international standards for a travel document.

Thanks to the government investment in a nation wide fibre optic network, issuance of this travel document to the citizens is available at district level.

The issuance of the new laissez-passer is facilitated by the fact that the

systems of DGIE and National Identification Agency are interfaced.

Electronic Archive

The other IT based innovation to bring efficiency is the storage of applications for travel documentsin digital format.

The E-archive has eased turnaround time in processing of passports, visas and work permits because it reduced the circulation of physical files and enhanced easy retrieval of the same.

Border management and control Since 2006, Border Management System that uses biometric solutions as recommended by International Civil Aviation Association best practice standards was been used at all major border posts – all this in pursuit of a better service to travellers.

In 2012, an Automated Passenger Clearance System (APCS) was introduced at Kigali International Airport

Due to these remarkable improvements, the DGIE has been recognised both nationally and internationally. In 2009, HE Paul Kagame the President of the Republic of Rwanda recognised it for excellent customer care and integration of ICT in service delivery; the institution was the winner of the 2008 ICT Intego Award for excellence in use of ICT. Also in 2009, the department received, the African Association of Public Administration and Management (AAPAM ) Gold award for innovative management.

While in 2011, it was honoured in the RDB Awards under the Customer Care category. The DGIE was the first runners-up in the UN Public Service Awards in the category of “Improving the Delivery of Public Services” in 2012. And in 2013 in the Service Mag’s online survey on service delivery in public and private institutions, it emerged the overall best service provider in Rwanda. Importantly, Rwanda has also been named the friendliest country in East and Southern Africa by the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013. The same report ranks Rwanda among forty three destinations that improved visa procedures. This was based on introduction of e-visas issued by the DGIE.

Going forward

The institution will continue promoting the use of ICT in service delivery.

“We need to take advantage of the digital revolution,” Mr. Kalibata explains.

“We have achieved this level because we have been able to embrace the use of ICT. If we can be able to integrate our systems internally, we will be able to go even faster.”

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MIDIMAR using ICT tools

in risk reduction and timely disaster management

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he Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs (MIDIMAR) is in charge of managing and coordinating all disaster related issues on one hand, and all foreign refugees and Rwandan returnees on the other.

Disaster in the Rwandan context is mainly linked with natural and man-made disasters. An important aspect of disaster management is the ability to detect or predict potential disasters, and put in place measures to mitigate their impact on communities.

In order to effectively achieve this objective, the Government of Rwanda through the Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs (MIDIMAR), utilises a number of ICT interventions that allow the Ministry to acquire and easily access information related to disasters for all phases of Disaster Management, particularly preparedness, response and recovery. Some of these interventions are:

Disaster Management Communication System MIDIMAR put in place a Disaster Communication System that aims to provide relevant information to stakeholders for decision making, thus linking ICT with Disaster Risk Reduction.

This system, which enables effective information dissemination, enables MIDIMAR conduct a rapid, comprehensive and integrated assessment for better monitoring,

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coordination and management of disaster activities.

One aspect of it is the Disaster Management Information System, which allows creation of multiple accounts at ministry, sector, district and other levels to enable information gathering from the grassroots and efficient coordination where there is need. It also keeps a record of all sent and received SMSs for records purposes.

In addition, the system has an ‘Alerts’ section where one can find important information sent by SMS from sector level about disasters. An alert may be indicated as Active when it is connected to a new or existing disaster case.

Finally, it includes a ‘Reports’ module which allows the generation of reports based on specific criteria.

Generated reports can also be exported in Excel.

MIDIMAR minister Hon. Seraphine MUKANTABANA displays the National Risk Atlas of Rwanda

Early Warning System In a bid to inform, in a timely manner, the citizens in regards with any imminent disaster, MIDIMAR had a Disaster Early Warning System built on top of the existing Disaster Communication System, as a module/component.

This is used to send early warnings, to the affected citizens on their mobile phones.

MIDIMAR, as the National Platform Disaster Risk Reduction (NPDRR)coordinator, put in place an interface for use by interested NPDRR institution members to allow broadcast of warnings based on information collected from NPDRR institutions members and to have feedback from citizens drawn from the existing MIDIMAR system.

Association of warnings and citizens feedback messages is done manually through the Web Interface of the system.

Landslide in Gihembe refugee camp- MIDIMAR's Early Warning System can be used to alert residents of such potential disasters

Spatial Information and Data Portal for Disaster Risk Reduction The Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs (MIDIMAR) also launched a web portal with support from the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD) to help facilitate disaster data and information sharing and improve response to disasters.

RCMRD was established under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the African Union to promote sustainable development through generation, application and dissemination of Geo-Information and allied ICT services and products in the member states and beyond.

The web portal is envisioned as an avenue to avail the public with information regarding infrastructure in Rwanda, weather conditions, the number of people affected in a disaster, and the map of the area affected.

Geographic Information System (GIS) and National Risk Atlas MIDIMAR also utilizes state-of-the-art Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to gather the information necessary to predict and minimize potential negative

Training on early warning system and simulation of the dissemination of warning messages.

consequences of natural disasters in Rwanda.

GIS is designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyse, manage, and present all types of geographical data for easy access and effective planning by the government and the private sector.

This data was crucial in producing the National Risk Atlas, another disaster data and information management tool

that will be crucial in achieving information dissemination.

The National Risk Atlas was sponsored by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the European Union under its African Caribbean and Pacific/ European Union Natural Disaster Risk Reduction Program managed by the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery of the World Bank Group.

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Electoral officials from Burkina Faso on a study tour in the IT unit of NEC, Rwanda.

Using ICT to promote electoral democracy in Rwanda For any electoral democracy to succeed there are some tenets that come into play, one of them being a capable electoral body to organize and manage free and regular electoral processes. In Rwanda, that body is the National Electoral Commission (NEC) responsible for preparatory work to enable seamless flow of elections; ranging from managing the votersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; register, awareness and the other crucial details in elections.

Adequate preparation is important to achieving

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the incident-free elections that NEC has come to be very associated with, and the secret behind this success embracing of ICT, among other valuable commitments.

According to Mike Shema, the Director General ICT at NEC, the electoral system has three distinct stages: Pre-election, Election and Postelection, and each of them requires careful preparation in order to achieve success at the end thus making the role of ICT pivotal in this process.

Pre-election: This phase necessitates updating of the register and supporting the day to day activities of the commission.

“Since 2008, we have maintained an electronic voter register and update it continuously,” explains Shema.

NEC also maintains an interactive website which voters can visit to find out their voting details and change from one polling centre to another directly from the website (www.nec.gov.rw).

“Voters can send SMS to specific codes to find out the details of the registration,” says Shema, adding that the online platform is more popular with the Diaspora community while the locals prefer SMS. Also, a Toll Free number that citizens can call for enquiries is maintained.

“Finally, in the run up to elections, we produce website banners for civic education,” explains Shema.

For security, the commission sends and maintains a backup of all register information at the National Identification Agency’s (NIDA) server, as well as a physical copy-updated weekly- in a secure vault at the central bank.

A member of NEC's ICT department updates the register electronically.

THE ELECTORAL CYCLE

that is announced first. It normally takes a maximum of 24 hours to get the final count,” says Shema.

Future plans

Election

On Election Day, Toll Free lines are increased and SMS channels put in placeto achieve rapid communication amongst voters, NEC staff and responding to arising matters – all this is IT. “We work in collaboration with telecom companies (MTN, Airtel and Tigo) to create Closed User Groups (CUG) where NEC officials can communicate freely as they go about their work,” Shema says. Officials can also scan and send the results report via a special secure (tamper-proof) email.

Post-election Rwanda has distinguished itself in the region for announcing provisional election results within 24 hours of voting. Mr. Shema attributes this to a robust ICT strategy and the professionalism of the staff involved in

the operation.

“Because results are collected and tallied progressively and finally at district level using various ICT tools before forwarding to NEC, it is possible to see the tendency of the results within 8 hours. It is this (tendency)

The Commission continues to explore new ways to enable all Rwandans participate in the electoral process. For example, NEC is currently exploring the possibility of introducing electronic voting for the Diaspora.

“Rwandans in the Diaspora have to travel to the nearest Embassy to vote, which is tiring, so we want to enable them to vote from where they are. And, this could begin with the upcoming presidential elections,” says Mike Shema.

However, he adds, a number of hurdles have to be overcome to achieve this, including amending the existing electoral laws which decree that one must be physically present to cast their ballot, finding the financial resources to put the system in place, training staff and ensuring that all the contestants agree with the method of e-voting.

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ECTOR REVIEW

RSSB Online services:

wherever you are, we are now closer to you than ever Over the past several years, a great deal of attention has been paid to the development of the social security system in Rwanda. The Law no 45/2010 established RSSB after the merger of CSR with RAMA into one organization in order to strengthen governance and harmonize social security services. In addition to the existing schemes, RSSB has also integrated Community Based Health Insurance. Maternity Leave Benefits Scheme is another new scheme in the process of being established also under RSSB. All this is done in order to provide comprehensive social security benefits to all Rwandans.

RSSB Online services: wherever RSSB services: you Online are, we are now closer to you wherever youthan are,ever we are

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now closer to you than ever

Pension scheme: s an institution overwith its customers and the public in genseeing the social eral.

For instance, a customer can check Telephone SMS: of Type imisanzu Over the past several years, a great deal of attention has been paid to the development the socialthen security security and that their account status, register a company, put *RSSB registration number* write system in Rwanda.

The Law no 45/2010 established RSSB after the merger of CSR with RAMA into always strives to or apply for pension benefits from the year and send to 4044. For example: one organization in order to strengthen governance and harmonize social security services. In addition make sure its cuscomfort of their home or office, without imisanzu*10156722g*2014 send toto the tomers are aware physically visiting the RSSB offices and 4044. existing schemes, RSSB has also integrated Community Based Health Insurance. Maternity Leave Benefits and satisfied with the above services it many other services can be accessed Internet: A contributor can register to Scheme is another new scheme the process being established under RSSB.to All this is done provides, has remarkable embraced a number online throughof RSSB website as indicatedalsouse web platform check account sta- in Last year has RSSB been in in the t RSSB, we do not phone based communication platform order to commuprovide comprehensive social security benefits to Rwandans. of web and telephone based below. tus all by logging in to:www.rssb.rw.rw social security in Rwanda. de take being entrusted to ease its interface with its contributo nication platforms to ease itsMutuelle interface

santé, the country’s biggest healthcare 14 hANDBOOK 2016 programme wasICT brought SECTOR under REVIEWRSSB 54 management for better running, this

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with management of such national critical programme rightly; while it is

Thus, for instance, a customer can check their balance, register a compan or apply for their pension benefits from the comfort of their home or office,

Click on“online application”, then“employee registration.”Fill the form accordingly and submit.You will receive a password on your phone and email.

Thereafter, go back to www.rssb.rw and open online application option. Then fill in LOGIN or CSR ID is your Social Security Number with the password given to you. Click on “Enter” and your pension contribution status statement is relayed.

Medical scheme:

Telephone SMS: type ubuzima then put *your RSSB medical number and send to 4044.For example: ubuzima*0017346 send to 4044

Companies can access these services online: Registration of the company: Now, companies registering for business at RDB do not require coming to RSSB for pension registration as they automatically receive RSSB registration number upon completion of business registration.

Pension account monitoring: Go to www. rssb.rw , click on “online applications”, then click on “employer registration”. A form will be given to you; fill it as required then submit. Then, visit RSSB Branch in the area where your business operates from, you will be given a password upon presentation of proof that you represent the company.

After the password has been given to you visit: www.rssb.rw, click on “online applications”, then on “employer login”, fill in the RSSB registration number and the given password to where there’s “matricule n◦” and click “Enter”. You get the company

status; whether in debt or not, when declarations were filed or not.

cally reflected to client account in RSSB system.

Can someone outside Rwanda apply for pension benefits online?

Production of medical cards

Visit: www.rssb.rw , click on “download forms” then click on forms/formats, select the form that fits benefits of your choice (old age pension, survivor’s pension benefits); fill and printout the form, sign it and take it to The Rwandan Embassy in the country of your residence to be signed on behalf of RSSB. Also, provide your account details in Rwanda into which your benefits will be paid. Send the application form accompanied with your birth certificate to RSSB. NB: All documents delivered from outside Rwanda have to carry a Visa of The Rwandan Embassy in the country of origin.

For enquiries, please reach us via:info@ rssb.rw Online declarations and payment of pension and medical contributions Visit RRA website:www.rra.gov.rw and go to online services; click on E-Tax/RSSB (CaisseSociale&RAMA). But to use this service, first register with RRA online services, get a password and the user name is your TIN number.

After submission of the declaration, the system will ask you if you want to pay using E-Payment or printing the acknowledgement that you have declared and take it to the bank and effect payments referring to it, choose according to your option.

After payment, the contributor doesn’t have to report physically report to RRA or RSSB because the transaction is automati-

RSSB medical cards are produced from the information saved in medical management system and are used at anytime, anywhere in Rwanda.

Each card carries a number and in case of default to it, cards of beneficiaries affiliated to it are deactivated.

Payments of CBHI contribution/ Mituelle Mituelle contributions are paid directly to RSSB accounts opened in different SACCOs, Banque Populaire du Rwanda and Equity Agents.

Electronic Document Management System(EDMS): This system has been developed to enhance quicker processing of incoming mails and facilitating easy follow up; it will reduce time and expenses especially for the handling of courier between branches and headquarters.

It also helps in the processing of outgoing mails, internal memo, and request of leave and tools of work like a vehicle. EDMS is still at pilot phase, but the purpose is to enable RSSB save on time and cost in responding to customers’ requests.

Toll free line:

For enquiries, please contact us via Toll free line 4044 or via e-mail: info@rssb.rw

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Mutuelle cardholders no longer 'problem' patients Healthcare insurance is an item taken serious in Rwanda, where over 80 per cent of the country’s population is covered by some sort of insurance cover to meet their medical care needs.

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n pursuit of perfecting the performance of the public health insurance scheme commonly known as Mutuelle de Santé, government recently placed it under RSSB for better management.

Just six months after the migration, contributors report of improved service delivery.

In February 2016, The New Times, Rwanda’s leading daily conducted separate interviews in different parts of the country in which several residents said since July 2015 they are receiving better attention at health centres and hospitals, and access to drugs has improved significantly.

This is very different from the previous time where many Mutuelle users in need of medical care received lukewarm service at health centres and would be referred to private pharmacies for drugs.

This turnaround is due to the fact that in the last six months, RSSB is making good medical bills for its contributors on time and this has a trickledown effect; it means health centres can in turn pay

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Medics attend to a patient, beneficiary of Mutuelle de Santé, at Kabutare Hospital in Huye District.

(Emmanuel Ntirenganya)

A woman in Gakenke District shows off her family’s Mutuelle de Sante cards. (Jean d’A mour Mbonyinshuti) suppliers of medical consumables on time. Specifically a mutuelle cardholder is no longer viewed as a ‘problem’ patient like before, but like one who has paid for a service and has a right to it.

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“RSSB seems to be the answer. It was inconceivable to be told that the money we paid ended up in pockets of greedy people. Corruption and misuse of the insurance money was leading us

to a very bad future,” said Jean Claude Mugiraneza, a resident of Ngoma District in the Eastern Province in an interview with The New Times.

“A Mutuelle de Santé officer based at the hospital prepares the medical receipt, that the hospital management endorses and sends to RSSB, which clears within one month,” said Dr Annick Bamurange, the Acting Director of Kabutare Hospital in the Southern Province also telling The New Times reporters.

The other exciting development in the Mutuelle health insurance scheme is about enabling its card holders seek medical services from any public health facility in the country unlike in the past when patients could only access medical care from their home districts.

WASAC adds 25,000m3 on network as 100% access nears, embraces ICTs for efficiency The recent launch of Nzove II water treatment plant is a significant indicator that 100 percent access to clean water will soon come to actuality.

Toasting the launch of Nzove II. President Kagame looks on

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ddressing citizens at the launch of the Nzove II plant, President Paul Kagame spoke of the need to take good care of the

infrastructure.

The plant was funded by Government of Rwanda at the tune of $ 7.4m for phase one, and constructed by Culligan International, a US firm.

“There is a lot that is going to be saved and ultimately gained from the expertise of Culligan and their technology in processing of water,” said the President.

Phase two of the project, which includes the expansion of Nzove 1 and 2, will generate an extra 30,000m3—consequently bringing water supply in Kigali to 100 percent—with a surplus of 5,000m3.

Mr. James Sano, the CEO of the Water and Sanitation Corporation Ltd (WASAC) remarked in a separate interview: “Nzove II pumping bottled level quality water into the network dispels the longheld belief that water from River Nyabarongo could not be purified to a level where it was safe for human consumption. Soon,

we shall improve on the distribution infrastructure to ensure that this water remains ready for human consumption up to the end user.”

These celebrated achievements are a result of government's upped budget for water supply in the urban centres and the City of Kigali which saw Culligan International, an American firm, being contracted to construct Nzove II water treatment plant.

International standards put the daily water needs of a city dweller at 100 litres per day, but until recently Kigali’s water supply stood at 50 litres instead.

Recent official statistics put the population of Kigali at 1.1 million persons; this requires 110,000 m³ of water per day. With the newly completed Nzove II plant adding some 25,000 m³ to the city’s existing capacity of 65,000 m³ to make it 90,000 m³, the city has made significant progress towards attaining its water goals.

Nzove II will not be a stand-alone project but will also be combined with optimization of production capacity of Nzove I Water Treatment Plant. This optimization will see Nzove I add an extra 14,000 cubic metres of water per day to the city water

supply capacity by mid this year. By July, WASAC will be able to supply Kigali City with 104,000 m³ per day.

ICT improving efficiency

Mr. Sano says his organization puts integration of ICTs at the fore of its business model, which basically involves producing water from raw water, treating it, transporting it, distributing it and then producing the bills and getting the revenues.

"ICT is at the centre of our business model,” he stresses, adding that this provides extra support for the physical infrastructure and enhances efficiency.

“With the help of the scudder systems I monitor everything from my office; production to distribution,” says Eng. Ugur Sandikci of Culligan at Nzove II plant hastening to add that these systems bring efficiency in managing the forwarding system at treatment plants.

Smart payments

Water consumers are now using facilities such as mobile payments, using benefits of ICT to make payments into the utility’s accounts and as a result we the role of

President Paul Kagame with water officials and staff of Calligan International at the official of Nzove II plant

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cashiers in branches has been phased out; people are paying through the banks, internet banking, mobile phones and so forth.

“For instance every household in Kigali is our customer and everyone has an account, we manage these accounts through IT. There is a system called SMS, a payment management system that does this,” Mr. Sano says.

“We have managed to do live payments for our customers and we are planning to do real-time measurements of consumption volumes and live billing, which will streamline the billing cycle, reduce the staff that are working in our billing cycle, increase recovery , but most importantly improve efficiency in the billing and the management of revenues because there will be few errors,” Mr. Sano concludes.

Supporting other functions

“In distribution, which is more about hardware, we are planning to have scudder systems, which we already have installed at our treatment plants,” the official reveals.

ICTs are also used in managing support functions like human resource, finance, stores and customers through their individual accounts.

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RwandaOnline: Making eGovernment a reality RwandaOnline is a private technology firm that aspires to be a key catalyst for transformation in Rwanda through Information Technology. It came into existence in 2014 with the initial cardinal mission of developing an e-Government platform in Rwanda to enable digitalized access of public services; part of its key ingredient is realising Smart Rwanda.

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An Irembo Service Ambassador helps a citizen register for the site using his National ID.

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his has been done through a 25 Year public-private concession model which was designed to “Build, Operate and Transfer” the project within that time limit.

This approach fits well in the government’s deliberate desire of placing the private sector in the central position in the navigation of the ICT transformation journey.

This enormous trust places RwandaOnline in a rather exciting position; that of being a key technology enabler as a tech driven and community focused company during the country’s current digital transformation phase looking ahead to 2020.

With such a diverse group of staff members, the company has created a unique atmosphere of creativity and problem solvers.

“It’s really a hard place not to like and even harder place to leave once you arrive,”……..

RwandaOnline runs what has been creatively dubbed Irembo, a Kinyarwanda word

Irembo is designed to accommodate all Rwandan citizens, including those who reside up country in areas where it is difficult to access internet.

that translates to Gate or Gateway, and in regards to the platform it symbolises openness, and access to government services in Rwanda.

The platform launched last July 2015 with 5 live services.

The fact that Irembo was able to launch within the first year of conception is something to be proud of. It goes to show how committed all parties were in making this thing happen, from the government institutions, partnering organizations, and its self at RwandaOnline. Overall, it also shows the need for an eGovernment platform in Rwanda, and the focus towards good governance and service delivery as catalysts to economic growth. Irembo is essentially a one-stop shop designed to provide government services to business and citizenry in the country. This platform aims at improving the citizens’ lives as well as creating an efficient government service delivery system

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Irembo in revolutionising provision of government services

on a regular basis based on new services developed.

The platform is designed to reduce citizens waiting in long lines at district, sector, or cell level offices save money on trips from government offices to banks and vice versa. The idea is to make it a one stop process both for access of services, and a payment for them. Irembo will ensure that government officers aren’t dealing with an enormous amount of paperwork (paperless) on a regular basis. It will reduce chances of corruption, present transparency, and the ability for government officers to easily access/track all necessary files.

Available services on the portal and future plans

E-learning

RwandaOnline has developed Nihugure (www.nihugure.rw), an online training platform on which GoR back-end officers will learn how to navigate and use the eGov platform. Nihugure contains intuitive training material in form of video, powerpoint and PDF. It is dynamic in the sense that content is added and updated

Services from the Rwanda National Police such as driver’s license registration (provisional, definitive, supplementary) and birth certificates from the Ministry of Local government are amongst the most commonly used on the platform today. We’ve also kept the Diaspora and foreigners to the country in mind with the new Visa services (single entry, conference single entry) which were launched this month, land transfer which will cater for the Diaspora without the need for them to be in the country physically or even visit their respective embassies.

A user friendly platform

Irembo is designed to accommodate all Rwandan citizens, including those who reside up country in areas where it is difficult to access the internet. In such cases we have partnered with different organisa-

A gathering of Imidugudu leaders learns about the range of Irembo services and the many ways they can access them in their sectors/cells.

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tions (BDF, RTN, BK) in order to expand our network of access points closer to citizens.

Also, the platform can be accessed on multiple mobile devices (cell phone, tablet, laptop, etc).

Some of our services have also been equipped with USSD capabilities as well as payment methods that have been in place using the same system like Mobile Money, Tigo Cash and Airtel Money.

Payment methods are also integral to the platform. We began with Visa and now we have partnered with the popular mobile money platforms in the country including MTN Mobile Money and Tigo Cash to enable people to pay for services.

Planned trainings for users

Capacity building teams have conducted several trainings dating back to before the launch of the platform including; Training of Civil registration officers (CROs) and Training of Trainers, District executives from all over the country are trained on how to use the platform (back end) to be able to provide government services to the citizen (end user). This is in addition to awareness

Taking Irembo to the people: an Irembo Service Ambassador helps register people at one of our many district pop up events.

Head trainer, Jules Ntabwoba, leads a session educating members of both the government and private sector. campaigns throughout the country, Town Hall meetings and pop-up hubs (Live registration and application of services).

Challenges

Due to the novelty of this initiative, it has caused some challenges with some government institutions especially in relation to the access and provision of service

Accessing the Irembo platform is simply done on any internet-enabled device.

delivery. Others relate to connectivity and infrastructure issues. However, we are continuing to seek resources and build a network of organizations and partnering companies.

Partnering government institutions are yet to own their respective services which are accessible on Irembo. Services have not changed, just the channel in which

they are delivered to the citizens.

This year we shall focus on organizations and leadership meetings at district level, public and private organizations, schools, among others.

More services will be brought on the platform, suggestions from the public on how to improve the ecosystem of the entire platform will be taken in.

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Services Advertising Editing and Reviewing Publishing Online News Public Relations Communications

P.O.BOX 1899, Kigali-Rwanda Tel:+250 788 303856 | +250 788 313919 +250 788 358938 | +250 789 462189

Email:thelinkpublicationsltd@gmail.com editor@thelinkmagazine.com www.linkmagazine.com

Telecoms "Internet has transformed the way I use my mobile phone.

Now, I can send and receive money, pay for taxes and power, respond to e-mails and so forth," -

Deo Manzi, a kiosk operator in Kimironko.

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LIQUID TELECOM:

Building Africa’s digital future Liquid Telecom is the leading independent data, voice and IP provider in eastern, central and southern Africa, and over the years has demonstrated a strong commitment towards finding innovative ways to provide internet connectivity to every home and business in Africa.

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mong many other global awards, in November 2015, Liquid Telecom was named as the Best African Wholesale Carrier for the fourth consecutive year at the annual Global Carrier Awards, with the company being honoured for its innovation, vision and service excellence.

Today, Liquid Telecom’s terrestrial fibre network is the largest independent, contiguous network in Africa, currently spanning over 20,000km across borders, complemented by an award-winning satellite service for rural and more remote areas.

be critical towards achieving one of Rwanda’s Vision 2020 objectives; to transform into a knowledge-based economy and become the information hub of the region.

Liquid Sea – providing a faster and more reliable connection

Connecting Rwandans

In Rwanda, Liquid Telecom provides an extensive range of products and services for the wholesale, enterprise and retail markets.

Among many other products, Liquid Telecom Rwanda provides fast, reliable and affordable internet, and protected National, Regional and International MPLS services to a number of leading organisations, including government institutions and banks. In addition it offers wholesale services to major telecom companies through the East Africa Fibre Ring, the first regional fibre ring on the continent.

Recently Liquid Telecom Rwanda embarked on a very ambitious fibre to the home (FTTH) project to connect

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homes in Rwanda with speeds of up to 100Mbps. So far 1,500 houses have been connected with FTTH and more than 10,000 homes and SME’s are planned by the end of the year.

Liquid Telecom’s FTTH service provides home connections comparable to those typically enjoyed by large multinational corporations, enabling usage such as live TV streaming, uninterrupted video conferencing, real-time online gaming and

ICT SECTOR REVIEW

uploading and downloading large files.

Today, Rwandans can electronically register their own companies, trade online nationally and internationally, pay taxes, access government services, pay for goods and communicate using internet-enabled devices.

This improved connectivity has contributed to the development of a vibrant technology sector that continues to facilitate business growth and will

For customers of Africa’s largest independnent telecoms company, the future is full of promise.

Liquid Sea, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Liquid Telecom, has started a project to build a new subsea cable running the length of Africa’s east coast and connecting to Liquid Telecom’s pan-African fibre network. By taking a less congested route through the Red Sea, the sea cable will connect seamlessly with Europe and all international destinations, linking Africa with the world.

Liquid Sea will offer speeds of 20-30Tbps, up to 10 times the capacity of existing submarine cables in the region, and will take 2 years to complete.

“The Liquid Sea project reaffirms our commitment to building Africa’s digital future.

The impact of Liquid Sea will be a far more reliable and ultra-fast connection for governments, businesses, schools and homes in both coastal and land-locked countries across Africa.”

Sam Nkusi, Chairman Liquid Telecom Rwanda

MTN Rwanda at the forefront of the digital revolution As Rwanda moves towards e-government where most state services will be accessible online, a creative synergy with the private sector has come into play to make this possible.

At the forefront of this effort is MTN Rwanda, which has invested significant resources in putting up the infrastructure necessary to build a reliable digital platform. The company has invested about 130 bn Rwf in infrastructure over the last 5 years.

Yvonne Manzi Makolo, Chief Marketing Officer ICT SECTOR REVIEW

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Today MTN Rwanda has over 4 million subscribers and a network coverage of 99% of the entire population, with a digital footprint that is covered by 4G, 3.75G and EDGE networks as well as an extensive fiber network. “The big focus for MTN is definitely data, digital services, and Mobile Financial Services (Mobile Money),” says MTN Chief Marketing Officer, Yvonne Manzi Makolo.

T Today MTN Rwanda has over

4subscribers million and a network coverage of

99% of the entire population

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he Mobile Money platform, in particular, continues to enjoy huge growth in terms of subscribers actually using it, the transaction volumes, as well as the products and services that are being rolled out on it.

“Now you can pay for fuel, water bills, buy cash power, pay taxes, school fees, transport fares, send money to neighbouring countries and so on,” Makolo explains.

Promoting e-government

MTN Rwanda has also connected Irembo, the official e-government portal, on its Mobile Money platform so that subscribers can pay for services electronically instead of using cash.

“We are also partnering with Irembo to put computers in our service centres upcountry where Rwandans can come and fill out the necessary forms online for whatever services they need, pay digitally, and go,” adds MTN Rwanda marketing chief.

Making data affordable MTN Rwanda, working with government and other players, has been able to drastically cut down the price of data, making it one of the lowest in the region.

“Moreover, MTN Rwanda has the lowest effective rate per MB of all the MTN operations on the continent,” reveals Makolo.

Costly smart phone still a challenge However, the prohibitive cost of smart phones remains a major barrier for Rwandans who want to go digital.

MTN as a group is looking for ways to overcome this obstacle and, last year, brought in affordable entry level smart phones retailing for about 29,000 Rwf. “We saw very good uptake, but the price is still on the high end for the rural customer. A lot more needs to be done to reduce the price of handsets and push smart phone penetration if we are to achieve a digital economy,” Makolo concludes.

Experience ultimate speeds with 4G LTE now on your mobile phone.

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Available at all MTN Service Centres countrywide.

DO MORE WITH RWANDAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S INTERNET LEADER.

Telecomunication System | Computer Network Materials & Hardware

P.O. Box 5858 Kigali -Rwanda | Tel: (+250) 0788 682 433 | (+250)788 529 036 Email: sales@visiontechnologiescompany.com Website: www.visiontechnologiescompany.com

Finance

â&#x20AC;&#x153;ICT in the banking sector is mostly about improving efficiency. We are now able to automate processes, eliminate repetitive tasks and reduce errors, which we could not have achieved in the past,â&#x20AC;? -

Maurice Toroitich, MD KCB Rwanda Ltd.

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Review of ICT in Banking – 2016.

KCB Bank Rwanda Ltd Convenient, yet secure financial transactions form an integral part in the functioning of an economy as they ease movement and availability of money in real time for businesses. This becomes even more necessary in the current digitalized banking environment. Mr. Maurice Toroitich, Managing Director KCB Bank Rwanda Ltd shares how the Bank leverages on ICT to satisfy this necessity.

Qn. Can you tell us about the state of Internet Banking in KCB Bank Rwanda?

within a safe environment. So typical customer reservations about online banking are all addressed on our platform.

aurice Toroitich (MT): KCB’s Internet Banking platform has been available to our clients for some time now. Currently customers have access to various services on the platform which enable them to carry out their day to day transactions seamlessly. Importantly the ease and security of the service has enabled adoption within the business community. Obviously challenges still exist in Internet banking adoption from a local market perspective.

But we are optimistic as Internet penetration and public sensitization continues to grow, that we will see more customers using this service.

Qn: How has KCB overcome factors that affect Internet Banking?

M

Qn. Tell us about the challenges that KCB has faced as you try to promote Internet banking.

MT: The concept of Internet banking isn’t fully understood in the market today and we have a huge responsibility to educate our customers on what it can do to improve their day-to-day lives. Most people still prefer the traditional way of banking; which is mostly transacting with cash, which is statistically still the most trusted medium of payments in Africa. Internet Banking however provides a more convenient way of being able to make payments and manage basic transactions.

Our systems also provide the customer with several security features, which ensure that all transactions occur

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MT: Insufficient awareness has been critical to product adoption. Which is why we continuously sensitize our customers about the benefits of using Internet banking. This goes beyond communication to engagement at

branch level and customer business outlets.

The convenience of this service must be consistently demonstrated so that we attain higher uptake rates. As mentioned previously, security remains a concern for virtual banking channels. Customers should rest assured we have adequately set up our systems to respond to any cyber threats.

Qn. How has ICT helped the Bank in risk management?

MT: ICT in the banking sector is mostly about improving efficiency. We are now able to automate processes, eliminate repetitive tasks and reduce errors, which we could not have achieved in the past. Banking always has risks but technology continuously helps in mitigating them, to the extent that we can be proactive in dealing with a potential risk before it materializes.

Qn: In the context of smart technology, how is KCB moving toward the Government of Rwanda’s ambition of achieving a cashless economy.

MT: Several measures have been put in place to ensure at least 80% of our transactions are done through electronic channels. Our Mobile and Internet banking platforms represent substantial strides toward achieving this goal. Our cards, can be used locally and internationally to pay for goods and services at any VISA accepted merchants. These solutions are readily available, cost effective to the economy of Rwanda, and provide convenience to the customer. We will continue to introduce tech based products to the market and we envision that these initiatives will be key drivers of the cashless economy.

REAL-TIME BANKING, FROM THE COMFORT OF ANYWHERE https://onlinebanking.kcbbankgroup.com

KCB Internet Banking enables me to carry out my company’s banking transactions from wherever I am.

HOW TO TRANSACT?

FuNdS TRANSFERS

• Via any Internet enabled device, anywhere in the world via the link: https://onlinebanking.kcbbankgroup.com

Between your KCB Accounts Go to Menu Option » Transfer to Own Account or Transfer to Other KCB Bank Accounts.

• Enter your User ID and password to proceed • Request for a TAN (Transaction Authentication Number)

LIST OF SERVICES AVAILABLE: Account Information • Check your Account Balance This screen gives you an overview of your accounts.

• Check your Loan Details Go to Menu Option » Accounts Information » Loans » Loan Account Details.

• View your Online Transactions Status Go to Menu Option » Accounts Information » Online Transaction Status • View your Account Statement Go to Menu Option » Accounts Statement.

PAy TAxES (RRA)

Got to menu option » Bill payment Transfers » select country (Rw) » payment Type ( RRA)…follow prompts to complete your tax payment.

For more details, visit your nearest KCB Branch or Call us on 5222 / 0788 140 000, Email: contactus@rw.kcbbankgroup.com

www.kcbbankgroup.com

Transfer to other local banks (RTGS, or EFT) Go to Menu Option » Transfer to Other Local Banks (RTGS, Swift or EFT).

Swift Transfers (To international banks) Go to Menu Option » Swift Transfer

OTHER uSER OPTIONS • • • • •

Change ID Alias Change Account Alias Change Password Customize my Quick Menu SMS Alerts Administration

uSER TOOLS • Exchange Rates • Loans Calculator • Savings Banking as mobile as you. https://onlinebanking.kcbbankgroup.com

Register at any KCB Branch today!

We’re not just a credit bureau, we’re an information company and we’re helping people to use information for good; Aimable Nkuranga, TransUnion Rwanda boss.

In the recent years, Rwanda liberalised management of Credit Information System, hence the coming of several credit reference bureaus but one has stood out to make a mark on the Rwanda market. TransUnion Rwanda head tells us how leveraging on opportunities in IT is making things happen in the company’s Credit Information Management System services.

How is Transunion leveraging on ICT applications in providing unmatched credit reference services in Rwanda?

W

e’re a trusted provider of global information solutions for assessing and managing risk. We are driven by a belief that information can help advance our industry, facilitate commerce and ultimately increase the standard of living for consumers around the world.

Small changes in the way that people see information can have a big impact. Earlier this year we completed the rebrand of our local operation and we are now known as TransUnion Rwanda. With the transition we added new capabilities that enable banks, lenders, retailers and others to bring new opportunities to more people. We’re not just a credit bureau, we’re an information company and we’re helping people to use information for good.

We are a registered credit bureau and a repository of credit information on consumers and businesses. In other words, we store information on how consumers pay

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their accounts - as it is provided by credit and service providers - on time, in regular instalments, or not.

We are very driven by desire to enable lenders to make fast and informed, reliable and objective lending decisions. This makes it possible for them to approve loans and credit for consumers. We have a strong development focus on the credit infrastructure of East Africa and an integral part of this is creating greater access to information.

Recently, you introduced a new credit score system to Rwanda; how is IT ensuring the scores are accurate and informative enough to enable lenders make informed decisions?

The TransUnion Credit Score solution provides lenders with insight into the potential credit-risk of consumers by providing a snap-shot of their credit report at any given time. It’s an objective risk measurement that allows lenders to make efficient, equitable decisions about whether to extend credit and on what terms; lowering the risk of granting credit.

We believe that it is imperative that the Rwandan people understand what credit is, what your credit score is and how you can use the knowledge to better your score. We will be launching a direct to consumer solution called Nipashe, this gives consumers accurate, up-to-date information about their credit status in real-time, depending on whether their status is ‘good’ or ‘default’ they will have the opportunity to request a clearance certificate which they can use at credit providers to get credit, or their full credit report.

Do you see IT support enabling you bring about an efficient loan disbursement and debt management on this market?

As a responsible lender, you need to know about the financial position of a prospective consumer if, for example, they are considering opening an account or enquiring about a loan.

Through real time and online access to the necessary information that lenders require to make informed lending decisions, we enable enhanced and real time customer risk assessment.

Through the use of credit risk assessment tools, such as the TransUnion Credit Risk Score, lend-

Through the use of credit risk assessment tools, such as the TransUnion Credit Risk Score, lenders can assess the probability of a consumer defaulting against their financial commitments

ers can assess the probability of a consumer defaulting against their financial commitments.

Credit Scoring enables the lender to make decisions about opening accounts and granting credit by using statistical techniques to measure, i.e. the likelihood that a consumer applying for credit will be an acceptable credit risk.

Consequently credit scoring enables lenders to assess risk during the account origination process, manage an effective originations strategy to onboard the right customers, evaluate their debtors’ risk in conjunction with their expected performance, manage their existing debtors’ credit limits and collection obligations and rank debtors by their relative credit risk.

Could you share with us on the future plans of this operation in upgrading its IT for continued better services?

We are in the midst of overhauling our current website, which will serve as an information hub for Rwandan consumers, enabling greater access to information credit basics and providing the necessary steps to become credit savvy and manage their financial future sustainably.

We believe that it is imperative that

the Rwandan people understand what credit is, what a good credit standing is and how they can use this information to improve how lenders view their ability to repay loans. We will be launching a direct to consumer mobile solution that gives consumers accurate, up-to-date information about their credit status in real-time.

We also endeavor to provide more complete and multidimensional information to help our customers make more informed decisions and as such we will be embarking on numerous data enhancement efforts that will increase our data density and quality as well as the delivery thereof through improved channels.

This will allow us to utilise additional proactive analytics to provide further insight into the information that we house.

By doing this, what are the real benefits to your clients?

Very soon, we will be launching a direct to consumer mobile solution that enables consumers to have constant anytime, anywhere access to their information. Being able to access this information in a simple and easyto-use way empowers consumers to manage their own credit information so that they can act with confidence.

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kountable:

an innovative financing tool for entrepreneurs in a digital era kountable ltd. officially launched its services in Rwanda on 30 May 2016 after over a year of experimentation and development aided by a group of entrepreneurs in Kigali. kountable has developed a unique model that uses entrepreneursâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; social capital to attract financial capital to fund their business projects.

Entrepreneurs sign up through kountableâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s app, available for iOS and Android devices, and are able to quickly receive a score for their social capital, called a kScore. They can also submit projects for funding through the app.

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C

o-founders Chris Hale and Catherine Nomura developed kountable with the help of entrepreneurs in the Bigger Future Program, a quarterly coaching program in Kigali run by David Ormesher of Chicago, USA. Catherine had been involved in that program since its inception and introduced Chris to David. All agreed that Rwanda would be a good place to develop a new tech-based financing model for entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurs in the Bigger Future Program are successful, growing, tech-savvy and have sizable global networks. Chris quickly learned that they understood that their social capital was valuable and wanted to be able to measure it and use it to help make them more visible to investors. With the help of kountable Country Manager, Cyusa Leandre, he also learned that there was a huge unmet need among SMEs for short-

term capital to fund projects.

Rwanda’s commitment to developing entrepreneurship in the country and its support of innovative, ICT-driven approaches made it a very attractive place to develop and launch a new fintech company serving SMEs. Indeed, kountable has found Rwanda to be a very supportive environment on all fronts.

As it looks to expand globally, kountable remains committed to growing its positive impact on Rwandan SMEs and continuing to innovate its model in conjunction with Rwanda’s government and banking sectors.

Kountable is proud to have launched in Rwanda and to have had the opportunity over the past year to showcase the quality of Rwanda’s entrepreneurs and their projects to investors in the USA. kountable’s technology platform uses data science to evaluate thousands of data points that an entrepreneur can easily make available

kountable’s technology platform uses data science to evaluate thousands of data points that an entrepreneur can easily make available through signing into the social networks they use through the kountable app.

ICT SECTOR REVIEW

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through signing into social networks they use through the kountable app.

This data is used to make a profile that is reflected in the entrepreneur’s kScore. Higher kScores make it easier to get funding, but the kScore is only one piece of the evaluation criteria for a project. Kountable’s third co-founder, Dr. Craig Allen, is a data scientist with decades of experience creating innovative financial products and multibillion dollar trade finance facilities in developing countries. kountable offers trade financing to entrepreneurs, rather than loans.

Trade financing has been used for centuries by large corporations but was never cost effective at the smaller transaction size required by SMEs. Using ICT, kountable is able to greatly reduce the costs of finding suitable entrepreneurs and projects, originating deals and overseeing them through

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to completion.

Unlike a loan, with trade finance, kountable actually pays the entrepreneur’s supplier for goods that are needed to execute on the project and gets paid back by the entrepreneur’s client. An example would be a contract for supplying computers purchased from a US supplier to schools in Rwanda. The entrepreneur with the contract would submit it to kountable, and on approval, kountable would purchase the computers on the entrepreneur’s behalf. The entrepreneur would oversee their importation and installation, and the schools would pay kountable for the computers on completion of the contract, which would then pay the entrepreneur the full amount, less a reasonable financing fee.

Since it’s inception, kountable has put over 5 Million USD in revenue into the hands of Rwandan entrepreneurs

by funding their projects. As the company and its model scale up, drawing in more investors, that number will continue to grow, helping to address the much larger demand which exists for this type of financing. As proof of this demand, on the weekend following its launch in June 2016, kountable received over $12M US in requests for fundable projects (projects that met the minimum funding criteria of the model) from Rwandan entrepreneurs.

We are happy to answer further questions or provide more details including quotes and entrepreneur clients available for interviews if desired.

Please contact Cyusa Leandre (cyusa@kountable.com) for more information.

IT solutions Injecting big thinking in digital innovation approaches that place usersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; needs at the centre to ensure that solutions are well fitted to the markets they address.

THE HISTORY HAS BEGUN THE FUTURE IS OURS

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PBG Rwanda limited is a diversified ICT and home appliances company, focused on improving people's lives through significant innovation in two areas: Consumer Lifestyle and Education.

Our Mission is to make

technology accessible in order to transform people’s lives. From education, knowledge development and communication up to comfort at home. We develop and deliver quality goods which are not only affordable but easy to use. The company is a result

of a joint venture between two leaders in Latin America; Positivo Informatica from Brazil and BGH from Argentina.

Recently established in Kigali, Rwanda. and proudly

African, PBG Rwanda limited manufactures and distributes PCs and other electronic products both for education and comfort purposes. It also invests in professional development by transferring the know-how through its world class management team.

Operative factory Positivo BGH, Kigali, Rwanda

CONSUMER PC

Manufacturing and commercialization of reliable and innovative IT products, perfectly adaptable to our end customers’ needs and requirements. An extensive portfolio with big competitive advantages for our end users, including notebooks, desktops. All in One and tablets.

SMARTPHONES We have over 20 years experience in the cellular phone market, from manufacturing through distribution of equipment and infrastructure.

EDUCATION INFRASTRUCTURE

Positivo BGH is an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) with infrastructure.

Each new customer can access and work with our OEM specialists to define, plan and develop the best business platform with flexibility, quality, and expertise in order to meet the various challenges the project demands through an integral solution.

In July 2015, Positivo BGH opened its plant in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. It’s a 2800 square meters facility set in 7500 square meters of land, fully equipped with cutting edge technology and a productive capacity of 60 thousand computers per month. 90% of the staff workforce is Rwandan.

We distribute more than 2.5 million PC’s a year. being one of the main manufacturers in the world.

Positivo BGH has extensive experience in the segment and its mission is to add value with educational IT solutions. The main target is to bring the latest technology in the industry while maintaining the ease of use and intuitive oriented settings for each level of education.

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ISPA facilitating Rwandaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s digital revolution

Since its entry onto the scene as an internet service provider in 2005, ISPA has set itself apart as a leader in a fast-paced and highly competitive field. According to Robert B. Rugema, the Sales and Marketing Manager for ISPA, what sets the company apart are its wide variety of products custom made for the clients as well as offering fast and reliable internet at an affordable price. ISPA offers a wide range of products including: Fast, Reliable and Affordable Internet Access 1. Wireless broadband Internet 2. 4G LTE 3. Fibre optics

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Domain Name Services Web Browsing VoIP Voice Systems (PABX) Video Conferencing Live Streaming; Local and

International Conferences, Meetings, Weddings Fiber and Wireless Leased lines (VPN) IP TV Network Solutions

I

n addition, ISPA has invested heavily in putting up infrastructure over the years, and can now provide connectivity in all districts of Rwanda.

“Our goal is to ensure that all Rwandans have access to reliable and affordable internet, in line with the government’s objectives. That is why we are working hard to increase the number of subscribers for our internet not just among corporate bodies but also for private residences,” Rugema explains.

Working with MYICT

Over the years, ISPA has enjoyed a close institutional relationship with the Ministry of Youth and ICT as the sector has grown from strength to strength.

“The biggest support we have had from MYICT is the enormous investment they have put in setting up the backbone ICT infrastructure countrywide which has been indispensable for us to tap into as we also expanded our own growth,” says Rugema.

The company has also partnered with MYICT over the years to carry out awareness campaigns in the different districts to help Rwandans understand the importance of internet.

Further, Rugema reveals, “ISPA from time to time sets up free access internet hotspots in different parts of the city for limited periods so people can have a practical experience of the difference using our internet gives.”

Exciting new projects

ISPA has a couple of exciting projects in the pipeline which are set to transform the way Rwandans interact with the internet.

Mr. Rugema says that most Rwandans do not make full use of the super fast internet that they have access to, and so ISPA is working on introducing some great new products that will help them do just that.

“Today we have people paying for superfast internet but they use it only to check Email, WhatsApp, Facebook etc, yet they could use it for so much more. At ISPA, we want to help our customers maximize the high speed internet they pay for,” he explains.

Cut down call costs with VoIP

First in the pipeline is the Voice over IP (VoIP), which basically involves making phone calls over the internet.

“Currently, we are testing feasibility of VoIP, and trials are going very well. When we introduce it, it will change the way people make calls: it is very cheap (almost free of charge compared to traditional phone calls), and it allows you to communicate worldwide,” reveals Rugema.

Towards a digital economy

Rwanda has made considerable strides towards achieving a digital economy, and Mr. Rugema believes ISPA can be at the forefront of making it a reality.

“Rwanda is moving very fast towards achieving a digital economy. Everywhere you turn, systems are running on technology,” he says, adding that ISPA is playing a lead role in this process by continuing to invest heavily in infrastructure to make sure that the internet is accessible in all corners of the country.

“At this pace, in a few years, Rwanda will have no competition within the region in the field of ICT. ISPA continues to attract new clients because it offers a reliable service that customers are happy with, and in the near future we hope to take this experience and technology out of here to other countries,” Rugema remarks.

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Entertainment for the whole family

But all work without play makes Jack a dull boy. After their study sessions, when the children need to cool off, ISPA’s upcoming product- the Android TV Box- will come to the rescue.

The Android TV Box will be packaged specifically for families and allow users to access thousands of TV channels, movies, children’s games and so on.

“It will be great for families since children will have access to movies, sports and games so they do not have to move around,” he explains.

Android TV Box

Helping children do homework

ISPA current and upcoming products offer families special benefits, particularly by boosting the children’s learning and keeping them entertained when it is time for relaxing.

High internet speeds come in especially handy in the area of education by making it easier for school-going children to do their homework research online.

“Homework today has evolved and assignments normally require children to do some research online, watch video tutorials on the internet and so on. The feedback we get from parents consistently indicates that children benefit a lot from our super-fast internet because it enables them complete their homework easily,” says Rugema.

For more details on ISPA’s services, call +250 788 303427 / 0788 303181 or drop them an email at: info@ispa.rw, or visit their website: www.ispa.rw

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TigerSoft Ltd: More than just an IT company

I

f there is any organisation that should be called inspirational, TigerSoft Ltd is it. Over the years, TigerSoft Ltd has established itself as a giant in Rwanda’s ICT sector by taking on a string of ambitious projects that were formerly regarded as the preserve of foreign-owned companies and executing them perfectly at a fraction of the cost.

From its very beginnings, TigerSoft Ltd has been led by a simple philosophy, as expressed by the group’s Managing Director, Mr. Roger MIGABO, a respected technology executive within ICT circles in Rwanda.

“Our job is to make it possible for the Government to provide the best services to Rwandans by creating top quality, stable and secure ICT systems at affordable costs,” he says.

The company’s portfolio includes setting up the National Identification system that is crucial for the running of banks, telecom companies, among others. In 1998, TigerSoft Ltd set up the first Wide Area Network (WAN) in the country for use at the airport, a move that revolutionized the way banks operate in Rwanda. Furthermore, TigerSoft Ltd created and manages the public service payroll system, and its other clients include the Rwanda National Police, MIFOTRA and the National Bank of Rwanda.

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NIDA staff update citizens' ID information using software developed by TigerSoft.

Services offered TigerSoft Ltd is able to create any applications, software, website development and design, mobile applications, BPand QA Consulting for any client quickly and economically.

The company is currently developing a number of projects that are set to transform the ICT sector.

“TigerSoft Ltd acts as an incubator for ICT systems, investing in fields that most people would consider risky

ICT SECTOR REVIEW

and developing them to a level where they are viable,” Mr. Migabo says.

Inspiring local talent TigerSoft Ltd makes it a point to hire talented ICT professionals in the country, while working with an all-Rwandan staff for project implementation, in order to inspire fellow Rwandans to aspire for excellence in ICT. “We want to show that Rwandans can do the jobs that are considered difficult, and do them well,” says Mr. Migabo.

Towards a cashless economy TigerSoft Ltd set up the first cashless system in Rwanda on behalf of the Ministry of Defence, a model which was also adopted by other government bodies, banks and microfinance institutions.

“Time is money. We believe that the biggest service our IT solutions offer the public is saving time which can then be put into other economically productive activities,” Mr. Migabo remarks.

Accelerate Your Business Growth With Us Tiger soft is involved in ;

Payroll & HR Outsourcing

Mulit-readable Travel Document System

web portals System Integration

Financial Management Information Systems

Web Service

Mobile

Electoral Tiger soft ltd has strongManagement knowledge in IOS app and Android & Information System apps development

QA CONSULTING

WEB DEVELOPMENT

(BPO) for global companies looking for business growth and innovation

Network & Security

Tiger soft ltd provides wide range of Graphics and image

Population & Civil Registration Services OFFSHORE TEAM

BPO

Adapt Testing Strategy to Meet the Quality Needs

DESIGN

Custom web application development.

We work with .NET Django.

web portals

Dedicated proffesional resources along with complete infrastructure.

Accelerate business growth with us Mobile

Tiger soft ltd has strong knowledge in IOS app and Android apps development

QA CONSULTING

WEB DEVELOPMENT

Document Management

Custom web application development.

We work with .NET Django.

BPO

Adapt Testing Strategy to Meet the Quality Needs

36

National I.D Production

(BPO) for global companies looking for business growth and innovation

DESIGN

Tiger soft ltd provides wide range of Graphics and image

OFFSHORE TEAM

Dedicated proffesional resources along with complete infrastructure.

Accelerate business growth with us 14th Floor, Kigali City Tower, 2 KN 81 Street

P. O. Box 6428 Kigali, Rwanda

twitter.com/TigersoftCo

www.facebook.com/TigersoftCo

www.tigersoft.rw

Africa

I

ICDL Africa establishes head office in Rwanda to promote digital literacy across Sub-Saharan Africa

CDL Africa’s establishment in Rwanda and initial engagement with the government came about in an interesting way: it started with a tweet.

“In March 2013, we received a tweet from the Hon. Minister of Youth and ICT, Jean Philbert Nsengimana, saying that we should collaborate on the certification aspect of MYICT skills development initiatives,” Mr. Séamus McGinley, the General Manager of ICDL Africa recalls. A meeting swiftly followed, with the end result being that in January 2015, ICDL Africa established its head office for all of Africa in Kigali, from where it presently serves its partner institutions across more than 20 countries in Africa.

“Our decision to move to Rwanda was influenced by the positive policy environment from an education and ICT point of view and the ease of doing business,” says Mr. McGinley.

What is ICDL Africa?

ICDL Africa is a subsidiary of ICDL Foundation, a not for profit social enterprise whose mission is to ensure the proficient use of ICT for all individuals throughout society.

It delivers the ICDL certification programme - the global standard in end-user computer skills – through its network of partner education institutions across Africa, known as Accredited Test Centres. In addition, there are regional ICDL offices in Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Mr. McGinley says: “The programme covers a range of key skills from word processing and spreadsheets, to areas like the use of online collaboration tools, presentation and project planning software.”

The ICDL programme is driven by government and employer needs in terms of capacity building for ICT skills to be an enabler for growth.

“When certified, our candidates can be confident that they have attained a global

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ICDL Africa Kigali Team with the Irish Ambassador to Rwanda on his visit to their office in March 2016 standard of competency in the given module area,” Mr. McGinley confirms.

ICDL in Rwanda – Activities over the last year

Working with MYICT

By having the head office in Rwanda, Rwandan ICDL stakeholders benefit from global expertise combined with local implementation.

A dedicated local team provides programmerelated support (technical and non-technical), and implement new initiatives including trainthe-trainer workshops.

“Our global teams developed a new ICDL Train-the-Trainer programme specifically for Rwanda. It orients participants in our social enterprise model, and our global approach to excellence in programme development and quality implementation,” Mr. McGinley explains. Two successful Train-the-Trainer workshops have taken place so far, with more scheduled throughout 2016. Other initiatives in the pipeline include a new ICT in Education module aimed at equipping teachers with skills to proficiently use technology in the classroom, and modules in Digital Marketing and Coding / Computing. www.icdlafrica.org On Twitter @ICDLAfrica.

Who knows where the next tweet could lead!

All ICDL Africa’s activity and aspirations in Rwanda are motivated and framed by Vision 2020 and, specifically, by the SMART Rwanda Master Plan.

The organisation signed an MoU with MYICT that covers a number of areas, the first one being the certification of public sector staff.

“We have committed to working with MYICT and other relevant stakeholders to certify 85,000 public sector workers over five years,” Mr. McGinley reveals.

ICDL is also working with the Ministry on the development of a national digital literacy policy and the development of the private sector training sector.

The local Accredited Test Centre network includes University of Rwanda - College of Science and Technology, E-ICT Integrated Training Centre, Techno Brain, and Nu-Vision High School in Kabuga, district branches of the Business Development Fund (BDF), and Mind Leaps, an NGO working with street kids in Nyamirambo.

CYUDA Ltd:

Providing IT solutions where they are needed most CYUDA Rwanda Ltd is a tech enterprise that was started with the intention of providing IT tools to those most in need of them, such as individuals, SMEs, organisations (both NGO and government-related) that offer basic services to the population in crucial areas like health, education and business.

According to CYUDA Ltd founder and CEO, Cyusa LĂŠandre, the company is dedicated to finding creative ICT solutions to satisfy the needs of Rwandans in a sustainable manner.

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his means we provide top quality solutions for local problems, at a price that is affordable for our clients, but at the same time it must make good business sense for us as a company,” Cyusa explains.

The CYUDA approach

CYUDA Rwanda Ltd employs a unique 3-pronged approach that enables it meet its goals: it enables organisations to accelerate their impact through sustainable, smart computing and broadband technologies; provides expertly designed solutions – including hardware, software, and power – for challenging environments with harsh climates and unreliable power; and partners with local ICT projects that are sustainable, build local capacity, and develop an ICT ecosystem for the future.

Working with a number of local and international partners (e.g. Dell, HP, Inveneo), CYUDA Ltd offers diverse solutions including: affordable computers for schools and organisations, High Quality Broadband Access, Webhosting services, Professional ICT services, Long Distance Networking, Mobile Computing and the unique “THIN Clients” service that lets up to 40 users share one PC.

Our computers may cost about half the price of a typical PC of similar specifications, yet ours have a longer shelf-life

Major projects Since its inception in 2012, CYUDA Rwanda Ltd has undertaken a number of major hardware and softwarerelated projects in line with its mission, prominent among which are the fol-

lowing: Helping schools stock their computer laboratories by providing them with high quality, affordable and energyefficient desktop computers.

“We work with leading experts in computer design in the USA to come up with products tailor-made for our local conditions. For instance, our computers can withstand heat, dust, and consume very little power compared to conventional computers,” says Cyusa.

After a prototype is made, CYUDA Ltd then partners with manufacturers in China for mass-production of the product at a relatively lower cost.

“Thus, our computers may cost about half the price of a typical PC of similar specifications, yet ours have a longer shelf-life,” the CYUDA boss adds.

In addition, CYUDA Ltd provides after-sales services for these clients, including maintenance and orienting staff and students in basic ICT skills.

Software solutions for SMEs: CYUDA Ltd believes in Rwanda’s Vision 2020 goal of creating a private sector-led economy. As such, the company has a portfolio of software solutions targeted at improving efficiency and productivity of Small and Medium Enterprises.

“We have developed comprehensive applications to simplify all records, accounting and book-keeping operations in supermarkets and small shops. We also have another app to keep track of sales and stock for pharmacies,” reveals Cyusa, adding that another app to that will link farmers to markets is currently under production.

Challenges

However, Mr. Cyusa notes that despite the praiseworthy strides Rwanda has made towards boosting the ICT sector, more support (financial) is needed for techpreneurs who are above the start-up stage but are not market giants.

“While there is a lot of support for starting entrepreneurs through initiatives such as k-Lab, and the big companies like MTN and Tigo have found their feet, there is a gap in funding for enterprises like CYUDA Rwanda Ltd which are in between. Plugging this sector would help the ICT sector grow a lot faster,” Cyusa explains.

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AA UNI Rwanda: one-stop centre for your business solutions

E

stablished in 2012, AA UNI Rwanda Ltd helps its clients and partners thrive in the constantly evolving global marketplace by offering custom-built IT solutions that improve efficiency, enable smooth business operation and help companies focus on what they do best.

AA UNI Rwanda Ltd has a rich history of innovation, expansion and growth. Its emphasis on continuous Research and Development ensures that the products delivered to its clients are feature-rich and are based on state-of-the-art technologies.

Products and Services

AA UNI Rwanda’s products and services are in three major categories: Software, IT Services and IT Hardware. Under these categories, the company provides a wide range of Information technology-related products and services including web hosting and designing, consulting, business automation software and ERP, fiscal products and devices, computer hardware, peripherals, accessories and consumables.

“Many people could know us for EBM where we control a decent market share, but we offer more than that,” says the Director, Fiscal and Business Solutions, Mr. Agha Ahmed Hassan Shirazi.

Here is a breakdown of some of the more popular products AA UNI Rwanda Ltd offers:

Electronic Billing Machines (EBMs) In 2013, AA UNI Rwanda Ltd successfully received certification from Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) for supplying Electronic Billing Machines (EBMs) to taxpayers. Today, 3,000 taxpayers in Rwanda use the company’s EBMs, which accounts for almost 30% of the market share. Clients of AA UNI Rwanda Ltd can choose from a range of EBM products, namely: the Sales Data Controller (SDC-GWR)

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Reports & Analysis.

AA UNI Rwanda Ltd also supplies the best quality hardware at a good price. Some of them are: Servers and Data Storage or the Certified Invoicing System of which they can use the Electronic Cash Register (CIS - SuperCash Economic) or opt for Point of Sales Software (CIS - RwandaPOS). The products integrate easily with any existing Accounting Software or ERP or Management system.

BUSY Business Accounting Software AA UNI Rwanda Ltd offers customers in Rwanda the highly acclaimed BUSY software, an integrated business accounting software for Micro, Small and Medium businesses.

With over 120,000 installations (over 600,000 Users) worldwide, BUSY is one of the leading accounting softwares in the world. The salient features of BUSY are: Financial Accounting (Multi-Currency); Inventory Management (Multi-location); Production / Bill of Material; Sales / Purchase Quotations; Sales / Purchase Order Processing; Fully User-configurable Invoicing; User-configurable Documents / Letters; User-configurable Columns in Reports; CST / VAT Reports (State-specific); Mfg / Trading Excise Registers; Service Tax & TDS; MIS

IDS Next

Hoteliers – be it a chain or independent hotels, resorts or boutique hotels, serviced apartments or limited serviced apartments, restaurants or lounges, turn to IDS Next for robust solutions built for their niche needs.

IT Hardware Sales & Services AA UNI Rwanda Ltd also supplies the best quality hardware at a good price. Some of them are: Servers and Data Storage; Printers (Black and white, Color) and Scanners; Copiers; Desktops and Laptops; Monitors, Keyboards, mouse etc.; related cables; Cartridges, Toners, other consumables; Computer Stationery and all other computer accessories and peripherals.

Professional support

IT Services offered include: Networking services and Computer & ICT equipment maintenance.

AA UNI Rwanda Ltd has an experienced team of business and engineering consultants to offer clients continued professional support and product maintenance through their whole lifecycle starting from the moment of sale and continuing until the end of their usage.

The company’s support department also strives to meet the customers’ requirements and facilitate their work by providing 24/7 online assistance clients.

“Generally, the market is good. I think now the majority of VAT registered businesses are using the devices. So far that is good.

Basically the other softwares we have introduced into the market are very new, implementation is ongoing and we have a couple of clients in that. We expect more clients to come in the near future,” Mr. Shirazi notes.

RRA CERTIFIED EBM (ELECTRONIC BILLING MACHINE) SUPPLIER

RwandaPOS

CIS-Point of Sale Software

SDC (Sales Data Controller) GENEKO’s SDC GWR

APPROVED

Invoicing System GENEKO’s SuperCash Economic

Exclusive Partners in RWANDA for:

AA UNI RWANDA LTD. Sales & Mktg: +250 727 830600 / 601 / 603 | E-mail: info@aaunirwanda.com | Web: www.aaunirwanda.com

The “ENGEN 1-CARD”: A smart way to pay for fuel

W

ith a number of popular products and petrol stations in all the country’s major towns, ENGEN Rwanda Ltd is one of the top oil marketing companies in Rwanda.

The company, which prides itself in providing innovative solutions to customer demands, brings world class petroleum products (Diesel, Petrol, and Kerosene) as well as automotive and industrial lubricants, greases, chemicals, Heavy fuel Oil, Bitumen and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to its clients.

In a bid to improve the customer experience, ease payments and promote a cashless economy, ENGEN pioneered a smart fuel card called “ENGEN 1-Card” that allows its customers to pay for fuel without using cash.

What is ENGEN 1-Card?

It is a convenient, reliable and safe cashless payment system that allows you to access fuel at any ENGEN petrol station in Rwanda. The card can be purchased at Engen Head Office for 3000FRW and customers only pay for the fuel they are loading on it.

A customer pays using the ENGEN-1card

What are the benefits?

According to Engen Rwanda Ltd Managing Director, Mrs. Sarah Doukoure-Bebey, the “ENGEN 1-Card” provides many benefits, which have made it very popular with customers.

Convenience: You do not have to carry cash with you all the time. All you need to fuel up is your card.

Safety: Since you are not carrying cash, you do not have to worry about Sarah Doukoure-Bebey. losing it or being robbed. In addition, the card has many security features that proManaging Director Engen Rwanda Ltd tect it from cyber fraud.

Track your consumption: Each month Engen compiles and emails you a report of the amount of fuel you have consumed. That way, you can keep track

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of, and control, your consumption.

Savings: The “ENGEN 1-Card” is perfect for corporate organisations looking to efficiently manage their fleet consumption, with many clients (particularly transport companies) reporting big savings on fuel ever since they started using the card.

How to get the “ENGEN 1-Card” “Simply visit the Engen Rwanda head office in Kigali and we shall create the appropriate card for you or your fleet” says Mrs. Doukoure.

Finally, ENGEN also allows customers to pay using Visa Cards at all its stations, hence offering another convenient way for motorists to purchase fuel.

Our Partners “In 2014, Rwanda registered 4,169 small-to-medium-sized ICT startups. This is a strong indicator of the progress that has been made.”-

Minister for MYICT, JeanPhilbert Nsengimana

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SP’s high-tech fuel depo and Electronic card transforming customer experience

S

P, a key market player in Rwanda’s oil business sector is impacting positively on its clientele through ICTs and the numerous rewards associated with it, such as enabling cashless transactions.

The oil marketer has of recent made a revolutionary entry into the fuel depot sector by setting up a state of art, fully automated fuel depot at Rusororo which has a holding capacity of 22, 000, 000 litres of oil.

Located in an expansive plot with a breathtaking view in the sparsely populated Gasabo district, the facility has become the most sought after facility in the fuel storage industry.

“When we commissioned just recently, we thought that the park yard of 70 trucks was too big, but the turnout surprised us. In fact, it has become small.

Clients really like the technology – automation makes life easier,” says Kabutare, SP’s Rusororo Depot Manager.

Streamlined process

The official adds that upon arrival, clients are given offloading orders that contain details of the importer, transporter, driver and the truck. This order is in form of a card with a PIN. The facility runs on a technology platform called “Terminal Management System Version 6”, which enables the whole process to continue under automation; offloading, tax and loading processes are fully automated.

Application of the latest in ICTs at SP Rusororo Fuel Depot makes the management of fuel storage secure, transparent and efficient.

The automation allows accuracy in detection of any contamination of the product before offloading, which gives confidence to clients that their products are in hands of professionals. “We make sure the product meets standard quality specifications to avoid contamination and resulting loss that can cause our busi-

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ness to grind to a halt. Also, the system allows us to ensure safety during offloading, for example evacuation of static energy created during travel,” Kabutare explains.

Mr. Claudien Habimana, the Managing Director of SP, says the automation process has been underway for some time to bring about a seamless flow in the company operations – selling oil products.

SP Electronic Card

SP Electronic Card (SPEC), which is available at all of the company petrol stations and points of sale around the country, enables cashless transactions in fuel consumption. “Electronic transactions enable the client to efficiently manage their fuel consumption, and the marketer avoids holding huge cash volumes at stations at one point,” Mr. Habimana rightly argues.

For clients who own fleets of vehicles, this relieves them from dealing with lots of paper work and additional staff as everything is automated. When a vehicle is fueled an instant report is transmitted to the client electronically so that they are updated on their balance positions all the time. Besides, all of the stations are enabled to receive e-payments, and in collaboration with MTN Mobile Money Services, electronic payments for the unbanked customers and SPEC non-holders are possible at all stations.

"Clients appreciate automated services at this facility; and the 22 million litre storage capacity, secure and ample parking space, this depot is second to none in this market.”- Kabutare.

The story of one man, who came, saw and never went back Mr. Cedric Abuna runs Integrated Computer Networks located in the down town of Kigali City. His company is an authorized partner to a number different IT brands that include Oracle, Microsoft and hp. “We are Oracle gold partners as you can see the certificates.

We are local partners of different

companies. I came here some fifteen years ago while working on Gacaca and after its closure I began my own business.

It is coping up it is just that the demand from the past has picked up. People now know the difference between different computers, the purchase has

improved. It is promising.

We have good machines they are welcome to come and visit our showroom which I think is the best in Kigali if you walked around. We have laptops, servers, desktops…I encourage them to come and buy,” Mr. Abuna notes.

Tel: 00250788301089 (Rwanda) | 00039049795960 (Italy) Mail: cedric@icncomputercentre.com Web: www.icncomputercentre.com P. O. Box 4589 Rue de la paix Kigali-Rwanda

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Alpha Computer Alpha Computer is a Rwandan company established in 2004 and operates in 3 East African countries with HQ in Rwanda. It employs well-trained and qualified professionals and it has been named a top 100 company for the last three consecutive years.

A Products

Vision Alpha computerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vision is to light up Africa with technology with a mission of delivering the best and most reliable ICT technologies to improve the efficiency and security of clientsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; IT infrastructure.

Simplicity, Innovation, Excellence and Quality are the core values of Alpha Computer Limited.

lpha Computer Limited products and services include IT sales, IT consultancy, System integration (Audio Visual, CCTV Cameras, perimeter security, access control), Networking, Maintenance and Data Security Services which include selling and integrating security solutions on every layer of information technologies system. We integrate network security solutions (Firewalls, mail & web security and vulnerabili-

Contacts

ties scanning), database security solutions (Activities monitoring, DB Firewalls, log review), and application security solutions (code analyses and vulnerabilities review). We also do privileged identity management, cloud security and authentication.

Since 2004, over 200 companies have been our clients. We have proven our expertise and experience in a number of industries and provided IT consulting on a number of topics. We partner with major IT leading companies like Kaspersky, Dell, Bitdefender, Microsoft, Cisco, and Cyberoam.

Email: info@alphacomputer.rw | Tel: +250782853352

OLED

SMART LED

Contact us: Tel : 0783853277 Mobile: 731340421 Facebook: konkaproducts Web: www.konkaproducts.com / www.konka.com.hk Add: 2000 House Quarter commercial P.O.Box 190 KIGALI RWANDA

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Africa Smart Investments Distributions (ASI-D) Ltd

Africa Smart Investments-Distributions (ASI-D) Ltd is a smart devices and technologies distribution company that focuses on value Addition Services Founded in Rwanda with operation across African continent. ASI-D is owned 100% by the holding company called Afriica Smart Investments (ASI) Ltd.

What is ASI.

AFRICA SMART INVESTMENTS (ASI) LTD is a private holding company founded by fifteen leading CEOs of Rwanda ICT companies.

These shareholders represent leading, and profitable companies of ICT sector In Rwanda, including telecommunication, software and system development, hardware distribution and retail.

Mission, Objectives, Vision and Values of ASI-D Ltd Mission

“Shaping the Digital transformation of Africans”

Objectives Creating innovative solution that can impact African Development and Businesses

Key Partners

Government of Rwanda MINEDUC MINICOM MYICT RDB Positivo BGH Education sector Actors and implementers Smart Devices and Smart Application Producers

Activities

We are exclusive distributors and Wholesalers of Positivo BGH Products on behalf of Government of Rwanda agreements.

We do distribution of smart devices

and smart technologies for export from Rwanda to African Continent Technologies development hub in different strategic sectors

Team

We employ a large number of staff across the continent including Rwanda branches ASI-D distributes its products through well selected and reputed Resellers and retailers to ensure products reach the end-user easily across the continent We have expertise in providing adequate solutions to your businesses and impact the continent in being smarter than it is today.

Vision “To become a World Centric Solution provider that Clients can rely on anytime To create cloud solutions that impact African Businesses

Values

Accuracy

Simplicity, Innovation Development

Intervention areas

Smart Devices and technologies Distribution in Rwanda and across the African Continent Education sector development by introducing smart devices and smart applications smart classrooms

Contact

Africa Smart Investments- Distributions (ASI-D) Ltd Tel +250783873884 Email : info@asid.rw;

Location:

Kigali City | Gasabo District | Ndera Sector | Masoro Cells Kigali Prime Economic Zone, Plot D8

TECHNOLOGIES LTD Computers, Stationary, Electronics, Office Furniture Tel . : 0782 793 300/ 0728 786 001/ 0786 932 775

KN ST 59, Near Hotel Gloria, Nyarugenge, Kigali

E-mail : champions_technologies@yahoo.com

2016

Anjney Trading Ltd

Opp. Hotel Gloria Kigali, Rwanda Tel: +250 786 384 848 |Email: sahdev000@yahoo.co.in

Our Products

Laptops Mobile Phones & All computer accessories

Dealers in: Laptops Mobile Phones, All computer accessories Electronics

A-ONE SUPER TRADE

Opp. Hotel Gloria Kigali, Rwanda Tel: +250 786 384 848 Email: sahdev000@yahoo.co.in

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Rio

Distributors Ltd Wholesale & Retail Computers & all Computer accesories

Tel: +250 788386606 Email: riodistributorskigali@gmail.com

WiFi Technologies Ltd Quality + Care + Idea = Longlife

Products Laptops Desktops Copiers & Printers Internet connections

Contacts Tel: 0785449050 Email: wifitechnologiesrw@yahoo.com

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Sai info- Tech LTD IT Equipment Laptops & Desktops Stationary Copiers & Printers Currency counters Funiture

Contact: Tel 0788308833/ 0728228833 | Email: sai.rwanda@gmail.com

Hi-Fi Trading services Ltd Our Products Laptops | Desktops computers Photo Copiers & Printers and electronics

Tel: +250 788753899/ +250 787613626 Email: hifiservices13@gmail.com

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Robotics Solutions Ltd

P.O. Box 1257, Kigali | Tel (+250) 788304530 | Email: roboticskgl@gmail.com

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System plus

lus SyStem Complete Office Solutions Ltd. com

Te ch n o l o g y

Office Equiments Supplies & IT Solutions #1, Ave. de la paix, Kigali-Rwanda (Next to Satguru, Caritas Library, BK Bank) system@systemplusltd.com, sys.plu@gmail.com www.systemplusltd.com Showroom +250 783 361 237 | +250 788 388 000 | +250 722 533 666

J&J Technologies LTD Computers Electronics & All Accessories

P.O. Box 2658 Kigali- Rwanda Tel: (+250) 788280276 (+250) 788829111 jkiran_patel@yahoo.com.co.in

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Computers | Furniture | Security System | Servers | IT solutions | Electronics | Smart Phones | ipads

Emil: oneroof.rw@gmail.com Tel: 0784 083 975

Computer support & Consultancy Ltd

Be confortable and Safety P.O Box 1454 | Email: cscit2012@gmail.com Tel: +250 788 307 717

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EngenEngen - Rwanda Limited - Rwanda Limited Engen -1342 Rwanda Limited Avenue Avenue des Poids Lourds P.O. Box Kigali, Republic of Rwanda des Poids Lourds - P.O. Box 1342 - Kigali, Republic of Rwanda - Rwanda Limited Avenue desEngen Poids Lourds P.O. Box 1342 Kigali, Republic of Rwanda Site web: Sitewww.engen.rw web: www.engen.rw Avenue des Poids Lourds - P.O. Box 1342 Kigali, Republic of Rwanda Site web: www.engen.rw

Site web: www.engen.rw

GETTING MUCH MORE THAN A ROOM The Hotel features an executive lounge and bar wich opens onto a wide sundeck overlooking the newly refurbished swimming pool THE HOTEL IS IN CENTRAL KIGALI RWANDA, JUST 10KM AWAY FROM KIGALY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Reservations: kigalireservations@serena.co.rw . P. O. Box 7469, Kigali . Tel: +250 252 597100 / +250 788184500 . Fax: +250 252 597101 E-mail: kigali@serena.co.rw . Web: www.serenahotels.com