RITA to award best ICT users

KIGALI - Rwanda Information Technology Authority (RITA) is set to award best Information and Communication Technology (ICT) providers with the ‘Intego Awards’. According to RITA, the Intego Awards will be a national honour of excellence aimed at boosting ICT growth, by recognising best performers. The five award categories are Export potential, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), Business Process Outsourcing services (BPO), Innovation and Excellency by the ICT Private Sector. However, the inaugural event date this year for these awards is yet to be announced, but information regarding the awards is already accessible online on RITA’s website. The site also reveals that the first edition is targeted specifically at the indigenous ICT Private sector. RITA intends to utilise the awards to infuse ICT best practices, and encourage actors who have made significant strides towards Rwanda’s ICT for Development. “This year, RITA is looking at using the awards to promote ICT private sector innovation, entrepreneurship, production of exportable ICT products, and penetration of ICTs among the underserved,” the website reads in part. Part of the nomination will be done online where members of the public will fill in details of the institutions or individuals of their choice. The awards are expected to primarily promote ICT entrepreneurship, motivate local companies to produce exportable high-tech products, and encourage producers to serve the underserved areas. “The event will also provide an ideal opportunity for local ICT companies, public institutions, policy makers and technocrats. Also to benefit are institutions of higher learning and civil society to celebrate the progress achieved so far and reflect on the way forward,” the website states. The annual Rwanda National Awards of Excellence in ICT are provided for in the country’s National Information Communication Infrastructure (NICI) Plan as a “high profile event where the focus is on achievements of Rwandan firms in the area of information and communication technology.” Co-sponsors for this year’s Intego Awards event are MTN, CMAC, Rwanda Television and Development Gateway Centre at the National University of Rwanda. Ends