From The Independent

The Transform Africa Conference, which was hosted by Rwanda from Oct.28 – 31, opened the eyes of many to the tremendous successes being registered by Rwanda in the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector.

The Transform Africa Conference, which was organized by the International Telecommunications Union and the Government of Rwanda, aimed at bringing together all stakeholders to find an answer to the question of how Africa can leverage broadband to transform communities, governments and the private sector. By the end of the conference, which was also attended by six presidents, there was consensus that Rwanda’s experience was an example that all African countries should emulate.

In attendance were Presidents Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon, Blaise Compaore of Burkinafaso, Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta of Mali, Salva Kiir Mayardit of South Sudan, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, among hundreds of other important dignitaries and experts in the ICT sector.  Speaking at the conference, President Paul Kagame underlined the reason why Rwanda has set the pace for the ICT revolution. He said Rwanda long ago realized the potential that ICT has to boost the national economy and to improve the living standards of Africans.

“We want to equip the African youth with these technologies and accelerate our development because we believe that success belongs to those who can innovate and those who seize the available opportunities,” he said.   “Let us expound on specific ways that we can leverage ICTs and work together to transform our continent during this interaction,” he added.

Over the last few years, Rwanda has been recognized as a reformer in the ICT industry thanks to the various projects it has implemented in that sector. One of the key projects is the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) for which the country’s programme is the 3rd largest deployment in the world after Peru and Uruguay.

Read more at independent.co.ug