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| Jean Philbert Nsengimana |
Rwanda is set to showcase her
investment potential in the ICT sector at the 2012 International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) Telecom World conference slated for next week in
Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The four-day high-level forum will
bring together ICT stakeholders, decision-maker leaders from across the globe.
Speaking to The New Times yesterday,
Minister of Youth and ICT, Jean Philbert Nsengimana, disclosed that about eight
local technology companies will take part in the forum which will run from
October 14 to 18.
"We shall represent Rwanda in
the international platform showcasing ICT investment opportunities and the
progress made in ICT sector," he noted.
Nsengimana stated that the country
is highly engaged with ITU, adding that many countries seek to emulate Rwanda's
leadership, in terms of ICT for development in Africa.
According to ITU, the conference
will be a platform to share knowledge and build consensus on the current
profound transformation of the ICT sector, its implications to the industry,
other vertical sectors and the world at large.
The delegation to be led by
Nsengimana will include among others, ICT Chamber of the Private Sector
Federation, Rwanda Development Board/ICT, Hehe Limited, Zilencio Creativo, and
COSCA Connect.
"At the conference, we will be
able to attract investors to come and invest in the ICT sector. For instance,
we have potential ICT areas we want people to invest in like access network and
technopole projects, among others," the Minister said.
"We have 63 hectares of land at
the Kigali Special Economic Zone; the only organisation which has confirmed
that it would develop its space is Carnegie Mellon University."
Nsengimana stated they will do
business project outsourcing due to the fact that Rwanda environment is ripe
for an ICT sector take-off.
"We also want to attract
venture capitalists in the area of ICT. We have very many innovative projects
in our country which lack financing and we shall use the conference platform to
attract financiers."
The event will bring together
thousands of participants and some 300 global leaders, including Heads of State
and Government, Ministers, industry CEOs, regulators, digital thought leaders,
technology consultants and academics.
ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun I.
Touré, said the conference will bring together visionary keynote speakers who
are all leaders in the ICT industry with valuable, strategic insights into the
current state of disruption in the sector and its implications for business,
government and the world.
Among these will be Kaspersky Lab
CEO and founder Eugene Kaspersky and high-level representatives from Cisco and
Ericsson among others with each scheduled to address a plenary session.
"ITU Telecom World 2012
provides an excellent platform to share these visions - and enable us all to
learn and benefit from them."
The conference will among others
discuss issues to do with global future of ICT, cyber security, women in ICT,
digital migrations, emergency telecommunications, broadband connectivity and
e-health, among others.
The New Times Of Rwanda