United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and Armenian Enterprise Incubator Foundation (EIF) Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding to advance Africa’s high-tech development notion.

According to a press release by ECA, the memorandum was approved during Armenia’s Engineering Week that took place from June 24 to 28.

It is an annual series of events that gathers over 500 science-tech enthusiasts and engineering companies from around the world.

Both parties consolidate efforts to advance technology as a bridge to the implementation of Africa’s Agenda 2063 and Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

"The outlined efforts are aimed at joint implementation of the national engineering lab programme, which is successful in Armenia, formation of an ecosystem of engineering start-ups, and joint research” explains Almoustapha Amadou Cisse, the ECA signatory.

The signing takes place three months after the Armenian Foreign Minister; Zohrab Mnatsakanyan visited ECA head office in Ethiopia.

Armenia, a possible model

"Armenia would like to forge cooperation with the ECA to advance the smart development concept towards achieving Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063 by way of developing e-solutions through sharing and exchanging knowledge,” the minister said while in Ethiopia.

EIF is a development and incubation agency supporting technology companies in Armenia.

Armenia is a former Soviet republic located in the mountainous South Caucasus region in the Middle East. It is competitively claiming its place on the world map as a hub of digital technology by becoming a knowledge-based economy by 2020.

In the absence of natural resources, the government has established the "innovation system” that has kept the country’s tech industry active over the past decade.

The recent Intel Corporation agreement to open a research centre in this newly independent state justifies the 8.2 per cent growth in the information technology sector.

editor@newtimesrwanda.com