Rwanda pursues tech revolution to be Africa’s Singapore

JOHANNESBURG (May 20): The tiny nation of Rwanda is pursuing a local technological revolution in a bid to transform its largely agrarian society into the equivalent of an African Singapore.

Since President Paul Kagame led his Rwandan Patriotic Front to power in 1994 after a genocide that claimed as many as 800,000 lives and cut economic output in half, the East African nation has pursued policies aimed at encouraging investment in and developing its ICT industry. The goal is for Rwanda to become a middle-income economy by 2020.

The latest innovation was unveiled this week when Rwanda officially opened a methane-fired power plant on Lake Kivu to generate clean energy. The government’s commitment to technological innovation has helped double the industry’s contribution to the 1.53 trillion-franc ($2.83 billion) economy, according to National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda data. It may also ensure the landlocked, tea- and coffee-growing nation sustains growth that’s averaged 7.5% since 2000, according to International Monetary Fund data.

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