As Africa continues to modernise, more governments realise the digital technology’s potential to improve administrative efficiency and transparency. While many parts of the continent still rely on paper-based systems that are expensive, slow, and difficult to access, Rwanda stands out as one of the beacons of digital government in Africa today.
Thanks to an ambitious plan launched by President Paul Kagame back in 2012, this small East African country has become one of the world’s fastest adopters of technology—a pioneer in digital transformation, e-governance, and e-democracy.
A Snapshot of Rwanda’s Digital Development Journey
According to the 2020 UN E-Government Survey, Rwanda was particularly noted as a country that despite having poorly developed infrastructure its online services are well developed compared to most other countries in Africa.
Rwanda’s good ranking is due to its efforts to develop and strengthen ICT infrastructure, well managed public service portals, simple navigation, timely access to official information, regular online payments through mobile money transfer systems and improved government accountability.
The Rwandan government has set up a single, secure platform in 2014, where citizens can access government services with relative ease. The platform is named Irembo, and at first, the idea was to help citizens submit applications and make payments for various services. Today, more than 89 services are offered to more than nine million subscribers and thousands of other people across the country.
Rwanda is considered a forward-looking eGovernment leader in Africa because it could take its many offline services online using a cloud-based system that saves money and improves efficiency. The eGovernment platform allows citizens to pay their taxes, register businesses, obtain national identity cards and much more.
Moreover, the country has a government sincerely committed to leveraging ICT as a cross-cutting enabler of economic growth, innovation and service delivery. It has continuously expressed its intention to use ICT to increase access to public services, facilitate internal trade, encourage e-commerce and SME development, enhance productivity and strengthen competitiveness, promote inclusive growth and reduce poverty. In addition, Rwanda has announced its Vision 2050 strategy and the Smart Rwanda Master Plan, which emphasise creating a prosperous and knowledgeable society through smart information and communications technology strategies.
What’s noteworthy is that despite having limited resources, the country has made great strides in offering public services online. That’s how Rwanda has set the bar regionally in terms of mobile network coverage since 97% of its population have access to mobile phone services. The country also boasts a high internet penetration rate for an African nation. The investments and enabling regulatory reforms have helped Rwanda achieve some of the highest 3G and 4G network coverage rates on the continent, bringing virtually all Rwandans within the range of mobile broadband.
Securing Rwanda’s Digital Future
A Digital Rwanda? The Rwandan government is making significant investments into its ability to develop and execute better policy through increased access to information and data. One challenge that Rwanda faces is balancing its need for information with user privacy. Rwanda is looking to leverage technology, such as Google’s Free Zone initiative, to serve people within its borders while keeping citizens’ identities private from other nations. If it can establish a framework where citizens feel safe transacting online despite an increase in online public services, its next hurdle will be persuading citizens that they should do business digitally also. As a country that has traditionally been cash-based due to a lack of trust in banks and a large unbanked population, proving convenience will be critical if e-services are going to become widespread.
Rwanda has made remarkable progress in expanding access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) over a short period. But although there is widespread use, not everyone is convinced of its benefits for them. The apparent problem is that Rwanda needs to invest more in human capital—people with skills to take advantage of ICTs—to build its digital skills base. A better-educated workforce will help accelerate change and ensure that Rwanda’s strategic investments create more jobs and opportunities for all. Key areas where Rwanda can strengthen its education system include designing curricula, training teachers and encouraging young people into computer science and engineering fields. To continue advancing with ICTs, Rwanda needs people with creative ideas as well as those who can put those ideas into practice.
If Rwanda is going to capitalise on what e-government has to offer, it must invest more heavily in upskilling its people—particularly when it comes to managing cyber security. Cybercrime and extortion continue to threaten organisations and institutions worldwide, but Rwanda can rise above by building an empowered workforce that understands how best to avoid such threats. After all, e-government isn’t just about developing technology; it also requires creating a workforce with skills suited for new roles and responsibilities.
Sources:
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/23432Rwanda_VNR_Document__Final.pdf
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/23432Rwanda_VNR_Document__Final.pdf
