Rwanda to showcase investment opportunities in the ICT sector at ITU Telecom World 2013

Rwanda will showcase its investment opportunities in the ICT sector as well as current Government and private sector led-innovations in this field at the ITU Telecom World 2013 in Bangkok, Thailand. This four-day event starting today will see expert speakers from industry and government, regulation and innovation hubs debating on the radical transformation of the ICT industry. Minister Jean Philbert Nsengimana said that this event comes at the right time, only a few weeks after Transform Africa 2013, a pan African ICT and tech event held in Kigali that brought together more than one thousand five hundred participants from Africa and beyond representing various sectors including seven heads of state, government ministers, business leaders and the youth to discuss the future of broadband and ICT for development in Africa. “We are here to discuss with partners from all over the world on how to maximize the use of ICTs in transforming our societies and making our lives better. As the Government of Rwanda, we are here to invite investors to take part in our ICT4D transformational journey, where we want ICT to play a pivotal role in changing our country into a knowledge-based economy,” he said. One of the key projects to be showcased at the Rwanda Pavilion at ITU Telecom World 2013 is the 4G LTE, a broadband network to cover 95 per cent of the population in three years. This rapid deployment of high-speed broadband capability in Rwanda will accelerate development of the country’s ICT sector, create jobs (including more than 100 professional jobs within a joint venture company between the Government of Rwanda and Korea Telecom), as well as help facilitate social and economic progress. Based on recent reports published by ITU, 95 per cent broadband penetration will translate into a 10 to 13 per cent boost in GDP growth for Rwanda. Francois Regis Gatarayiha, Director General of the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) said that from a regulators’ perspective, the theme for ITU Telecom World 2013 dictates that regulators should be prepared to adjust to the converging trend of ICT with a timely response of an enabling regulatory environment that encourages innovation and uptake of ICT services in a digital world. The Rwandan delegation to ITU Telecom World 2013 includes officials from the Ministry of Youth and ICT, Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA), Rwanda Development Board (RDB), Rwanda Private Sector Federation (PSF) and the Broadband Systems Corporation Ltd (BSC). ITU Telecom is part of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the United Nations specialised agency for telecommunications. It is the platform for high-level debate, knowledge-sharing and networking for the global ICT community - essential to drive industry success and address critical socio-economic challenges. The overall theme for ITU Telecom World 2013 is “Embracing Change in a Digital World”. Major topics for discussions include the way people communicate with each other, the dominant players in the ICT sector, business models, technological capabilities, standardization and regulatory regimes to accommodate new technologies and industry dynamics.