Connecting Africa is part of the Informa Tech Division of Informa PLC

This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 3099067.

Connectivity

Rwanda to launch $40M digitization project using AFD loan

Article Image
The Rwandan government is moving forward with a major project to digitize its public services and support innovative industries with the help of a €37 million (US$39.8 million) loan from the Government of France through the Agence Française de Développement (AFD).

Rwanda's Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN) confirmed the loan in a statement and said AFD was also giving the country a €1.2 million ($1.3 million) grant to help mobilize French expertise in the project areas.

The project aims to improve Rwanda's public services through digitization and also support innovations with high development potential like the drone industry.

"This support will allow, starting from 2023, modernization and harmonization of network infrastructure of central and local administrations, in particular those having direct interactions with citizens (districts and sector offices, hospitals and other government agencies), with the aim of improving the efficiency and capacity to provide quality public services," MINECOFIN said.

Drone development

The AFD loan will support the drone sector by financing the construction of a center of excellence as part of a Drone Operations Center (DOC), in Huye, Southern Province, which will be a place to test new use cases for the industry. The DOC will be managed by a private company.

A Geospatial Hub (GeoHub), a centralized geospatial data infrastructure and services hub, will also be set up and managed by the Rwanda Space Agency. The government said this will help improve evidence-based development, planning, monitoring and evaluation of public policies in various fields including urban planning, response to natural disasters, health and agriculture.

Rwanda's Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr. Uzziel Ndagijimana, said the AFD financing will support the Rwandan government's efforts "to modernize the administrative network infrastructure, operationalize a Geospatial Center of Excellence and a Drone Operation Center with the objective of improving government's efficiency and capacity to deliver services, unlocking drone private sector development, and supporting policy design, monitoring and evaluation across government."

He said it would also support innovation and economic development based on geospatial and drone-generated databases.

"We are delighted with the signature of this new project, AFD's first financing in Rwanda in the digital sector. Because it will enable the delivery of quality public services in key institutions across the country, this project will help reduce access gap between the capital and the rest of the country. It will also make the country more attractive and create economic opportunities in Huye district thanks to support for the drone industry," added Arthur Germond, AFD's director in Rwanda.

Last year, neighbor Uganda also took out a $140 million loan from the World Bank with funds earmarked for a major digital project to improve Internet connectivity in the country.

Related posts:

*Top image source: Gordon Johnson from Pixabay.

— The Staff, Connecting Africa

Innovation hub

Story

Hot startup of the month: Nigeria's Tech Herfrica

Connecting Africa's hot startup is Nigeria's Tech Herfrica, a social impact organization that focuses on the digital and financial inclusion of women and girls in rural areas of Nigeria.

Story

Omdia View: February 2024

Highlights in February 2024 in the Middle East and Africa included 5G launches in Senegal and 5G trials in Egypt as well as Kenya's first 5G MVNO. Airtel also launched a new wholesale connectivity business while MTN and Huawei are planning a joint Innovation Technology Lab in South Africa – that and more in this month's Omdia View.

More Innovation hub

Latest video

More videos

Partner perspectives

All Partner Perspectives

Sponsored video

More videos

Industry announcements

More Industry announcements

Upcoming events

Africa Tech Festival 2024
November 11-14, 2024
Cape Town, South Africa
More Upcoming events

Africa Tech Perspectives

Story

Uber's Marjorie Saint-Lot on inclusion and sustainability in Africa

Uber's Country Manager for Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire, Marjorie Saint-Lot, shares how the ride-hailing company is approaching public-private partnerships, environmentally friendly initiatives and gender inclusion in Africa.

Story

The 100 most influential African leaders in 2023

A new report from Africa Tech Festival and Connecting Africa puts a spotlight on the top 100 African leaders in the telecoms and technology sector in 2023.

Story

Deep dive into East Africa's tech startup ecosystem

New survey reveals a lack of access to investors, reliance on international VCs and global recession trends as the biggest barriers for East African tech startups to access funds.

More Africa Tech perspectives

Guest Perspectives

Story

Omdia View: February 2024

By Omdia Analysts

Highlights in February 2024 in the Middle East and Africa included 5G launches in Senegal and 5G trials in Egypt as well as Kenya's first 5G MVNO. Airtel also launched a new wholesale connectivity business while MTN and Huawei are planning a joint Innovation Technology Lab in South Africa – that and more in this month's Omdia View.

Story

Omdia View: January 2024

By Omdia Analysts

Highlights in January 2024 in the Middle East and Africa included a $200 million fintech deal between MTN and Mastercard as well as 5G network trials by Telecom Egypt – that and more in this month's Omdia View.

More Guest Perspectives

Like us on Facebook

Newsletter Sign Up


Sign Up
Tag id test-002