Rwanda: Transform Africa Gets Under Way

Rwanda will host the Transform Africa 2013 Summit from the 28 to 31 October 2013. This pan African ICT and ICT for development event bring together more than one thousand participants from Africa and beyond representing various sectors including governments, business and the youth to discuss the future of broadband in Africa.

The Minister of Youth and ICT, Jean Philbert Nsengimana said that the summit is a prime opportunity for leaders in both public and private sectors to explore ways that next generation technology can drive social and economic transformation across the African continent.

"At Transform Africa, discussion will focus on how African countries can maximize the opportunities of the Digital Economy, harnessing its power to drive innovation, deliver services, as well as create jobs for young people," Nsengimana said.

Transform Africa will also see the launch of a high-speed (4G LTE) broadband network, established through an agreement of the Government of Rwanda and KT Corporation (NYSE: KT), South Korea's largest telecommunications provider. This network will cover 95% of the population within three years.

This rapid deployment of high-speed broadband capability in Rwanda will accelerate development of the country's ICT sector, create jobs, as well as help facilitate social and economic progress. Based on recent reports published by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), 95% broadband penetration will translate into a 10 to 13% boost in GDP growth for Rwanda.

"Once infrastructure is in place, it is paramount that we all play our part in driving investments in content development and service delivery," said Valentine Rugwabiza, CEO of the Rwanda Development Board.

The Summit, co-organized by the Government of Rwanda and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) will feature five key events including the Leaders' Summit, the Youth Entrepreneurship and Innovation Extravaganza, Smart Africa Days an international tech exhibition and the Continental Awards.

Uganda: Nasasira to Chair UN Board On ICT 20 October 2013

ICT minister Eng. John Nasasira has been nominated to head a UN body dealing with international telecommunications development.

Nasasira was appointed chairman of the Smart Sustainable Development Model advisory board, a UN body under the International Telecommunications Union, whose headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland.

"This is a great opportunity and honour, not only for me but also Uganda," he told New Vision. "I will do my best to deliver on this assignment and represent our country as I always do."

The body, whose mandate is to link ICT for development and ICT for disaster management, is an initiative developed to mobilise infrastructure for social services in cases of disaster emergencies. Nasasira becomes a founding member and first chairman of the advisory board.

The 20-person board includes ministers from Japan, Luxemburg, Indonesia, Thailand and Jamaica. It also includes satellite professionals from the UK, US, Netherlands, France Saudi Arabia and UAE. Others are officials from the UN and other humanitarian organizations.

Microsoft has appointed a Nigerian to head its Kenyan office

Microsoft has appointed a Nigerian to head its Kenyan office that was elevated to an independent office.

The software giant has appointed Kunle Awosika as the Kenya country manager following the review of Microsoft’s Africa organisation structure in February.

Microsoft split its East and Southern Africa office into three to include Microsoft Angola (Mozambique and Angola), Microsoft Kenya and Microsoft East and Southern Africa, which will handle 12 countries like Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and South Sudan.

This signaled Microsoft’s increased focus on Kenya as a key market given its head will only concentrate on one market.

“Awosika will steer the business to the next phase of expansion as Microsoft’s global focus shifts to devices and services,” noted Microsoft in a statement on Monday.

“Awosika’s role is in line with the recent restructuring of the Microsoft East and Southern Africa (ESA) region. The move will further enable the business to streamline its resources and strengthen its market share in Africa.”

Microsoft has been too focused on Window’s software over the past decade as hitherto smaller rivals like Apple was revolutionising computing through products like the iPhone.

Now, the firm is revamping its strategy to accelerate development of computing services and hardware, a move that saw it agreeing this month to buy Nokia’s  handset unit for $7.2 billion (Sh626 billion).

Awosika served in Kenya for six years to 2009 and his appointment is a departure from the trend where US-based tech giants are employing locals to steer their local units.

Google has Joe Mucheru as Kenya’s country executive while IBM this year tapped Nic Nesbitt, the co-founder of a local business process outsourcing firm, KenCall, to steer its East Africa operations.

The split of the tech giant Africa’s operations prompted a review of its regional executive suite where Louis Otieno, formerly general manager Microsoft East and Southern Africa, is now the regional director for business development and strategy Microsoft Africa.

Eric Odipo, previously head of Microsoft’s small and micro business unit in the region, will head the East and Southern African unit.

The review saw Microsoft make a U-turn after it absorbed Kenya into east, central and West Africa unit that was being run from Nairobi.

Rwanda: We Are Ready for Continental ICT and Innovation Summit, Says Govt

The country is ready to host the Transform Africa Summit 2013, a forum aimed at spearheading broadband connectivity across the continent, Jean Philbert Nsengimana, the Minister for Youth and ICT, said in a statement on the 20th of October, 2013.

The four-day high level event, scheduled for October 28-31, will be held under the theme, "The Future Delivered Today". It will focus on devising ways how Africa can leverage broadband to transform communities, governments and the private sector.

Nsengimana noted that the forum was a prime opportunity for leaders in public and private sectors to explore ways that next generation technology can drive social and economic transformation across the African continent.

"At Transform Africa, discussions will focus on how African countries can maximise the opportunities of the digital economy, harnessing its power to drive innovation, deliver services, as well as create jobs for young people," Nsengimana said.

The summit, co-organised by the Government and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), will feature five key events, including the Leaders' Summit, the Youth Entrepreneurship and Innovation Extravaganza, Smart Africa Days, an international tech exhibition, and the Continental Awards.

It will bring together over 1,000 participants from Africa and beyond representing various sectors, including governments, business and the youth, to discuss the future of broadband in Africa.

Nsengimana said a high-speed (4G LTE) broadband network established through an agreement between the Government of Rwanda and KT Corporation, South Korea's largest telecommunications provider, will be launched during the event.

The network will cover 95 per cent of Rwanda within three years.

"The rapid deployment of high-speed broadband capability in Rwanda will accelerate development of the country's ICT sector, create jobs, as well as help facilitate social and economic progress," Nsengimana said.

According to recent reports published by ITU, 95 per cent broadband penetration will translate into a 10 to 13 per cent boost in economic growth for Rwanda.

"Once infrastructure is in place, it is paramount that we all play our part in driving investments in content development and service delivery," said Amb. Valentine Rugwabiza, chief executive officer of the Rwanda Development Board.

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