Generating and developing knowledge societies is a key element for sustainable development as defined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations in 2015. Based on a limited natural resource base, Rwanda chose to take an approach to development that differs from that of its neighbours by making ICTs the cornerstone of its development. With this focus, government of Rwanda (GoR) took a Pro-ICT led public policy that has led to several public reforms such as but not limited to liberalization of the telecom sector, enactment of laws to govern electronic messages, signatures, transactions, data protection, cyber-security and ICT usage, development of relevant infrastructure and establishment of key institutions such as the Rwanda Utilities and Regulatory Agency (RURA) and Rwanda Information Society Authority (RISA). These reforms have in turn led to a fast-growing ICT sector in Rwanda compared to that of the neighbours. To-date, Rwanda is one of the fastest growing African countries in ICT. In 2015, Rwanda emerged as the third best ICT country in Sub-Saharan Africa behind South Africa and Seychelles. In 2016, it moved one position up and emerged 2nd behind Seychelles. The fast-growing ICT sector has stimulated entrepreneurial creativity and growth across the economy. This chapter examines the best practices that Rwanda has applied in her journey to a knowledge society that could possibly help other countries in the region pursuing the same objective. The chapter also briefly reviews challenges and gaps in Rwanda's journey to a knowledge society and suggests recommendations for further improvement.
Top1. Introduction
Unlike most African nations, Rwanda has limited natural resources but Rwanda chose to take this limitation as an opportunity to take an approach to development that differs from that of its neighbours by making information and communication technologies (ICTs) the cornerstone of its development. With that goal, the government of Rwanda initiated the fourteen-year “National Information and Communication Infrastructure policy and plan (NICI) for 2006-2020. The overall aim of the NICI framework was to guide the country in the adoption and exploitation of modern ICTs to increase socio-economic development and create value for all citizens. The first NICI phase (2000 to 2005) focused on creating policies favourable to ICT initiatives. The second phase (2006 to 2010) concentrated on building the ICT backbone, including laying fibre-optic cables. The third phase (2011 to 2015) was aimed at speeding up the introduction of services to exploit the new technology1. The Pro-ICT public policy has led to several public reforms such as but not limited to: liberalization of the telecom sector, enactment of laws to govern electronic messages, signatures, transactions, data protection, cyber-security and ICT usage, establishment of key institutions such as the Rwanda Utilities and Regulatory Agency (RURA that has since adopted the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) ICT industry standards and the Rwanda Information Society (RISA) among others. Furthermore, the Government has also enhanced the ICT infrastructure by establishing a national data centre that centralizes information storage, management and protection, as well as use of cloud computing opportunities. Additionally, it has deployed a national fiber-optic backbone network that connects Rwanda to international sea cables increasing internet accessibility and affordability as well as connecting Rwandans to global networks.
Due to the varied reforms in the ICT sector, the country has registered a high growth rate of Internet usage compared to her neighbours and the global average. In the 2017 ITU global report on Measuring the Information Society, Rwanda was commended for a proactive strategic vision for the ICT sector that has made her achieve one of the highest levels of mobile broadband coverage in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2017, Mobile-cellular subscription per 100 inhabitants were 69.9 with Africa at 74.6 while LTE/WiMAX coverage (% of population) was 62 with Africa at 25.7 (ITU, 2017).
To-date, Rwanda is one of the fastest growing African countries in ICT. In 2015, it emerged 3rd best ICT country in Sub Saharan Africa behind South Africa and Seychelles (GIT Report, 2015). In 2016, it moved one position up and emerged 2nd behind Seychelles (GIT Report, 2016).
The ICT led development approach has stimulated entrepreneurial creativity and growth across the economy. In 2017, the “Ease of Doing Business” rankings, by which the World Bank gauges the intricacies of running a company in different countries, Rwanda emerged 41st out of 190 nations surveyed, up from 143 in 2009. In Africa, only Mauritius fared better (World Bank, 2017). A high rank indicates that a country has adopted laws favourable to starting and operating a company, in areas such as accessing credit, registering property transfers, paying taxes and enforcing contracts (World Bank, 2017). The World Bank report noted that while an entrepreneur had to go through nine procedures to start a business at a cost of 223 per cent of income per capita in 2005 in Rwanda, it now only took two procedures in three days at a cost of 8.9 per cent. Furthermore, the contribution of the service sector relative to agriculture to the overall GDP is increasing as a result of leveraging ICTs in all sectors of the economy. By 2011, services contributed 46% to GDP and consisted of wholesale and trade in various products, telecommunications, transport, and public administration (RDB, 2011).
The broader goal of the Government of Rwanda’s ICT centred public policy is to transform Rwanda into a regional high-tech hub or “Singapore of Africa” as they sometimes refer to themselves.
The purpose of this book chapter is to document the best practices that Rwanda has applied in her journey to a knowledge society that could possibly help other countries in the region pursuing the same objective. The chapter also briefly reviews challenges and gaps in Rwanda’s journey to a Knowledge society and suggests recommendations for further improvement. The rest of the chapter is organised as follows: best practices from Rwanda’s journey to a Knowledge Society, challenges and gaps in Rwanda’s journey to a Knowledge society, recommendations on the way forward for Rwanda’s journey to a knowledge society and conclusion.