ON OCTOBER 2-3, Rwanda, under the auspices of the Ministry of Youth and ICT, held a two-day event that was well spiced with topical ICT content such as Digital Payments, ICT Governance, Internet innovations, Smart City, Open Data and Digital innovations.  It is worthy of note that the Smart Rwanda conference flows from the Smart Africa agenda of which Rwanda plays a pivotal role and indeed is the lead for one of the pillars.

The two days were well spent with a lot to chew on concerning the current state of ICT in Rwanda, ICT business innovations, partnerships and even bigger opportunities in Broadband and general Data space.

In this article, I will share my reflections on the conference in general and the economic and environmental impact of Smart Rwanda in particular. Some ICT industry level thoughts are also expressed. I will, however, not cover possible pitfalls in the use of ICT and the measures to mitigate; it goes without saying that ample evidence about what the benefits to be derived from the ICT led Smart Rwanda will far exceed any potential risks.

I started by looking up the Oxford Dictionary about the meaning of being "Smart”. The word is of West Germanic origin. I liked the original sense of the word, "being mentally sharp” and "neat in a brisk, sharp style”. In ICT sense when the word is applied, Smart could mean applying ICT to make wise choices, to solve developmental problems in a way that can enhance the quality of life and short-circuit the development cycle sustainably.

Thus, to be Smart will mean to be both Efficient (speed and use of minimum resources), and to be Effective (attaining the developmental goal the right way – in this case attaining inclusive ICT usage for sustainable national growth with minimal environmental impact). It is, therefore, no wonder that most ICT solutions functionally have minimal environmental footprints in their less use of paper (and hence trees), water, fuel, emissions, etc. If the use of ICT is to save the time and money in driving from one point to the other (using phone call, telepresence, teleconference or video conference as examples), then they are also saving the use of fuel and thereby contributing to positive environmental impact.  

Smart Rwanda will therefore mean using ICT as a vehicle for Smart development to improve quality of life in Rwanda without compromising on the environment. Perhaps the entire world needs to go seriously smart to save the globe from emerging environmental catastrophes. Smart Rwanda also goes beyond the ‘hardware’ of ICT use but also the ‘software’ in its adoption, mind-set and thinking, that for all problems we will look for the smartest keys to unlock. Hence such smart ICT-led development will not only be participative but also expansive, sustainable and humanly ethical. The value of Smart Rwanda agenda should therefore not be underestimated as it could sit at the very centre of things. It is not surprising then that this noble vision is driven by the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, across all sectors of the economy.

In my next Smart Series, I will discuss ICT as a catalyst for economic development.

The author is the CEO, MTN Rwanda, the largest telecommunications company in the country.

ebeneza@mtn.co.rw