The government has urged stakeholders in the mobile industry to look into ways of increasing the contribution of the mobile technologies to the economy.

The call was made by the Minister for Youth and ICT, Jean Philbert Nsengimana, at the opening of a three-day regional workshop, dubbed ‘Regional Mobile for Socio-Economic Development’, in Nyarutarama, Kigali yesterday.

The conference brings together over 50 representatives of governments, private sector, telecom regulators, telecommunication companies, and civil society representatives from across the East African Community.

The minister noted that mobile technology is increasingly becoming crucial in society with its impact being felt across several sectors, including education, health, security, governance, among others.

He noted that the growth and development currently being experienced in the country is largely dependent on technology.

"For Rwanda to be among the top countries in the region with the fastest growing technology we had to create awareness to ensure people understood the economic contribution of the mobile sector and mobile technology,” Nsengimana said.

The workshop is hosted by the GSM Association, an association of mobile operators devoted to supporting the promotion of the mobile telephone systems, in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth and ICT (MYICT).

Participants will deliberate on the economic contribution of the mobile sector, the effects of government intervention, mobile technology contribution to social-economic welfare, and how government can best support universal access to mobile.

Gerald Rasugu, GSM Association market engagement director for Africa, said the association was hopeful that mobile technologies in the region would boost the economy and was a quick way to sustainable development.

Stakeholders say mobile technology is an enabler of better service provision that can be adopted by enterprises and corporations.

Yves Gilbert Nishimwe, the electronic banking manager for Bank of Kigali, said the use of mobile technology wouldn’t be a problem to the banks but rather a solution to ease their service provision.

"It may feel like interference to use some of the mobile services in banks; for instance, the mobile money services. But then, people should change this perception because mobile technologies are of great importance to many of the banking services. For example, mobile phones help people to get information on their mobile accounts and easily access all the transactions being carried out on their accounts, this is a great contribution that every bank should embrace,” he explained.

Participants will also discuss competition policy in the digital age, internet, principles of internet governance, mobile money for financial inclusion, principles of mobile privacy, mobile sector taxation, radio signals, and health among others.

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