There is need for strong partnership between the public and private sector to drive the information and communication technology agenda forward in Africa, experts attending the Transform Africa 2013 summit in Kigali have said.
There is need for strong partnership between the public and private sector to drive the information and communication technology agenda forward in Africa, experts attending the Transform Africa 2013 summit in Kigali have said.
They were speaking at a panel discussion dubbed "Delivering smart communities: vision to actions,” on the third day of the high-level forum, yesterday.
More than 1,500 participants, including heads of state from seven African countries and executives from Microsoft, Samsung, Facebook and IBM graced the meeting to devise ways on how Africa can leverage broadband to transform communities, governments and the private sector.
Leveraging ICT
"When we think of smart communities we want to contribute towards putting in place those communities,” said Kamran R. Siddiqi, Visa Group executive for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa.
"For us in Visa we consider public-private partnership a driver to achieve sustainable ICT growth. This partnership is very crucial for a country’s success,”
He said knowledge is an important tool to build communities and countries, and leveraging ICT development in Africa will increase knowledge flow on the continent.
"There are many things we are doing in Rwanda courtesy of public-private partnerships; we have launched M-visa, we have tremendous support here to make it a reality,” Siddiqi said.
The conference is expected to find an answer to how the transformative power of ICT and connectivity, along with the million growths and development possibilities can be available in Africa.
It is held under the theme, "The Future Delivered Today.”
On Tuesday, President Paul Kagame said Africa needed to embrace a digital revolution which has the power to transform communities.
He also said private-public partnerships in the ICT industry will form a strong basis for developing technology skills and innovation on the continent.
Kim Hong Jin, the president of Korea Telecom, said the global world is entering into an era where everything will be done digitally in a smart way and Africa should not be left behind.
"We are going to see smart phones available all over the world but building infrastructure to support digital revolution is going to be a challenge,” he said.
He said Korea Telecom and Rwanda have agreed to roll out affordable mobile infrastructure that will cover the whole country.
"Education is also needed to help people understand ICT benefits, especially broadband communication and smart phones. Infrastructure will be there, devices will be cheap but, learning how to use them will be a challenge,” Kim said.
However, Robert Kayihura, Microsoft’s director for legal and corporate affairs for sub-Saharan Africa, said before putting in place ICT infrastructure, there is a need by government and the private sector to think about strategies and ensure that they are relevant to development realities.
Kayihura called on countries to invest in incubation centres to enable young minds come up with innovations that will support ICT growth in Africa.
In Kigali, kLab provides an open space for IT entrepreneurs to collaborate and innovate.
Facebook Head of Policy Matt Perault said governments should involve the private sector in making ICT policies implemented.