There never could have been a better stage to showcase Africa’s ICT talent at the just concluded Transform Africa 2013 Summit. And participants did not disappoint.Africa showed the rest of the world that it can be a hotbed for innovations that fit in perfectly with its environment. Most of the showcased apps were created to override day-to-day problems encountered by millions of Africans and improve their lives.One product that really stood out was Rwandapedia, an online archiving tool that was launched by the government. It is a treasure trove of documentary material – audio, video, photographs, interviews as well as important government documents, some that date back close to a hundred years.The other was the rollout of the 4G broadband that will make internet connectively more affordable and improve its availability.Rwandapedia will be an inevitable companion for students and researchers alike. The free application is vault that holds Rwanda’s historical, cultural, political, economic and social data that can allow someone to trace the country’s advances. Special commendation should be extended to those who came up with the idea because now Rwanda’s story will be told by Rwandans – with documentary evidence.But maintaining the online archives needs more than the input of those who created it, but everyone’s contribution will make it go a long way. The tools are there (with the 4LTE technology) to spur this country’s development, we only need to set our priorities right.Otherwise, Rwandapedia and the 4G were the icing on the cake of a truly enriching technological week.
