The digital transformation week kicked off of on Monday.
If it fulfills its promise and ambition, the Digital Transformation Week (DTW), inaugurated, Thursday 12th 2024, will become a major event in Rwanda’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector.
The brain child of the ICT Chamber, in partnership with the Ministry of ICT and Innovation, and Rwanda Information Society Authority (RISA), DTW gives the feel of an idea whose time has not only come, but was long overdue.
Over the six days, the event will highlight how far Rwanda has gone in adopting digital technologies, both in the public and private sectors, and the sector’s contribution to the country’s economy. It is an opportunity for ICT entrepreneurs, to increase awareness of their services among the wider public, and to meet those among their own sector, with whom they might forge collaborations.
The ICT sector is an essential part of Rwanda’s National Strategy for Transformation (NST), and as the country looks to NST2, the event kicks off the exploration of how the sector can make the most of opportunities in NST2, opportunities which include new start ups and the jobs they create.
Bringing together entrepreneurs, regulators, policy makers and development partners, DTW is a rare opportunity for almost everyone involved in the digital economy, to meet in one place and share ideas.
Alex Ntale, CEO Rwanda ICT Chamber, speaks at the opening of the Digital
With the theme of Building a Digital Economy Together, the event expects an attendance of around 10,000 people from the ICT sector, as well as the general public.
They will participate in discussions and workshops on the priorities for NST2, and digital opportunities it will create, digital start up growth and job creation, how to increase digital exports, or exporting digital services from Rwanda, to primarily other parts of the continent, enabling greater collaboration within the digital economy, and creating conditions for sustainable partnerships.
The event will culminate in a Digital Business Summit, and an awards ceremony, to recognise leading digital innovators and businesses. The event is a celebration of the achievements within the ICT sector, and the part technology plays and is expected to play in the country’s economic development. But it also aims to look unflinchingly at the challenges within the development of the sector, and what needs to be done to address them.
