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Rwanda to Host Summit on Smart Cities to Transform Africa

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In Summary: A plan to replicate the solutions pioneered in Rwanda such as smart cities is underway across Africa. Experience working on Smart Rwanda has provided an excellent platform to replicate and tailor similar solutions for other member states and governments. Forecasts suggest that ICT will change cities, countries and industries and ultimately lead to a truly Networked Society in Africa, the Nairobi-based CIO East Africa - Business Technology Leadership reports.

A major feature of the Smart Cities initiative in Rwanda are buses and other public transport vehicles equipped with Wi-Fi and cashless payment systems. The country may soon start exporting the cashless bus payment system to other African countries according to executives of Tap & Go, the company that developed the system. (Photo: Africanews)

Kigali, Rwanda—The third Transform Africa Summit, focusing on developing smart cities is underway in Kigali, Rwanda, from 10 - 12 May, organizers announced here last week. Under the Smart Africa Initiative, Rwanda is spearheading the smart cities agenda.  The Smart Cities summit will host over 300 mayors of cities across Africa to showcase the components of a smart city, Dr Hamadoun Touré, the executive director of Smart Africa, said in a press statement in Kigali last week.

Dr. Hamadoun Toure, Founding Executive Director of SMART Africa Alliance.

The smart-cities initiative, which aims at leveraging technology solutions to improve efficiency of cities, has seen Rwanda roll out a number of developments such as Wi-Fi in public areas, including public transport vehicles, as well as cashless payment systems in public transport. Currently, the initiative is backed by 11 African countries while more nations are expected to join. The initiative is on the verge of building partnerships with governments, academia, and private sector to increase its relevance in the ICT ecosystem.

During the just-concluded World Economic Forum on Africa in Kigali, the Smart Africa Alliance entered into a partnership with Ericsson to meet the goal of developing a more connected and fully functioning knowledge-based society in Africa. As a result of the partnership, Ericsson will serve as a technical advisor and platinum private sector member collaborating with the Alliance to design blueprints supporting the implementation of the Smart Africa vision and plan.

“The agreement is a boost toward Smart Africa’s aims as it will facilitate them to work towards creating an enabling environment for the private sector as well as understanding the existing skills gap, “Toure said in the statement. “Since the inception of the Smart Africa Alliance, one of our main principles has centered on the critical need to create an enabling environment for private sector involvement, “he said, adding, “we realize that economic transformation must be driven by private companies focused on the use of ICT to increase access to markets and information for business,” Toure said.

Fredrik Jejdling, head of Ericsson in sub-Saharan Africa region

For Ericsson, the partnership will be an opportunity to share skills and contribute positively to ICT growth in cities and countries. Fredrik Jejdling, the head of Ericsson in the sub-Saharan Africa region, said that they would be aiming at replicating the solutions pioneered in Rwanda such as smart cities across the continent. “Our experience working on Smart Rwanda has provided an excellent platform to replicate and tailor similar solutions for other member states and governments.

Smartphones in Africa are genuinely transforming the continent in very dramatic and radical ways. They have become substitute for services, such as financial credit, health, education, newspapers, games and entertainment.

“We expect that ICT will change cities, countries and industries and ultimately lead to a truly Networked Society in Africa,” Jejdling said in the press statement. The Smart Africa initiative last month set out to reduce call rates among member countries by implementing the One Africa Network. Participating countries, thus far, are; Ivory Coast, Gabon, Kenya, Mali, Uganda, Senegal, South Sudan, Chad, Angola, Rwanda and Burkina Faso.

Source: CIO East Africa - Business Technology Leadership.