Tunis – rwanda is one of the 20 countries benefitting from the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) Open Data Platform programme that has been launched by the bank. The programme is part of the "Africa Information Highway” project aimed at improving data management and dissemination on the continent.The platform is a user -friendly tool for extracting data, creating and sharing, sharing customised reports, as well as visualising countries’ data across themes in tables, charts and maps.The other 19 beneficiary countries are Algeria, Cameroon, Cape Verde, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Ghana, Republic of Congo, Senegal, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Zambia and ZimbabweWork is on course to complete platforms for the rest of African countries by July 2013, the African Development Bank said in a statement."Through the Open Data Platform, users can access a wide range of development data on African countries from multiple international and national official sources. The platform also facilitates the collection, analysis and sharing of data among countries and with international development partners,” the statement added."The platform offers a unique opportunity for various users, such as policymakers, analysts, researchers, business leaders and investors around the world, to gain access to reliable and timely data on Africa. "Users can visualise time series development indicators over a period of time, perform comprehensive analysis at country and regional levels, utilise presentation-ready graphics or create their own blog and share views and work with others, thereby creating an informed community of users.”The initiative is a response by AfDB aimed at significantly increasing access to quality data necessary for managing and monitoring development results in African countries, including Millennium Development Goals.The statement reads that the information highway responds to a number of important global and regional initiatives to scale up the availability of quality data on Africa and so foster evidence-based decision-making, public accountability and good governance.The initiative is also expected to significantly revolutionise data management and dissemination in Africa and reposition the continent for more effective participation in the global information economy.