Rwandan President Paul Kagame on Tuesday observed that yet Africa has the fastest growing mobile penetration rate globally but too many Africans remain offline.
The Rwandan Head of State made the remarks on Tuesday, October 17, 2023, during the opening session of the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the continent’s largest connectivity event which kicked off from 17-19, 2023 in Kigali.
“The pandemic has added to accelerating the transition to a new era of technology-led development. Our young and talented entrepreneurs are driving this change, and we continue to support them.”
“That means we have to address the gaps in access and connectivity, with a sense of urgency. Too many Africans remain offline. Today, Africa has the fastest-growing mobile penetration rate globally. But we still have a long way to go.”
“Yet, we already have the means to address the problems we are dealing with today. Regional integration, powered by faster and more reliable broadband, is a big part of it. We can get more results, faster, by working together,” Kagame said,
Estimates show that 85 per cent of the Sub-Saharan Africa is covered by mobile networks, but the remaining 15 per cent, which accounts for about 200 million people, remains unconnected.
Mats Granryd, the Director General of GSMA extolled Rwanda for emerging as a true technological leader within Africa over the years saying that it is embarrassing the power of digital transformation to advance its services and improve the lives of its citizens serving as an example to many within the continent.
Latest World Economic Forum’s estimates ranks Rwanda on the 4th position Africa as the country is quickly becoming one of Africa’s major innovation hotpots.
“At the core of this transformation lies your leadership and ambitions President Kagame as well as the power of mobile technology. For the past 20 years, your forward looking digital policies have driven Rwanda’s economic transformation,” Cuvellier pointed out.
The main anchoring theme of MWC 2023this was ‘Velocity: Unleashing tomorrow’s technology today’
The Minister of ICT and innovation in Rwanda Paul Musoni said that this year provides an opportunity to learn more about technology solutions available today and on the horizon that can ensure that no African is left behind by being connected.
