The ministry of Youth and ICT (MYICT) has announced that about 3,000 delegates from 17 countries that constitute  Smart Africa Initiative will attend the Transform Africa summit slated for next month in Kigali.

The minister, Jean Philbert Nsengimana, said this on Monday, during a news conference organised to expound on the decisions of the cabinet meeting held last week on Friday.

Addressing journalists at the Prime Minister’s Office, Nsengimana said that the summit will mainly focus on the development of ‘Smart Cities’ to ensure African capitals embrace technology to effectively deliver services.

"The conference will include different side events such as Smart Women Summit and Africa Smart Cities’ forum while the youth will be given a platform to pitch their ideas to potential investors,” said the minister.

He added that they will also hold an awards ceremony for the best female innovator in ICT, among other activities.

The summit will be attended by heads of state, senior government officials and members of government institutions, private sector and others.

He urged different service providers such as hotels, transport companies, among others, to deliver quality services so as to maximise revenues from the summit.

He also called on the private sector to exploit the summit by cultivating partnerships with their visiting colleagues.

"After establishing SMART Africa, countries committed to develop smart cities. This is a massive opportunity for the youth,” he said.

Once approved in the Kigali summit, the Africa Smart and Sustainable Cities blueprint, African capitals will commit to use ICT in sectors like infrastructure, security, energy and transport, among others.

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