Rwanda works to scale up ICT usage in rural areas

Rwanda works to scale up ICT usage in rural areas

Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-30 04:36:03|Editor: yan

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KIGALI, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Rwandan government on Friday launched a twin special project in Northern Rwanda to scale up ICT usage to bridge the digital skills gap and give a boost to government's efforts to digitally transform rural areas.

Speaking at the launch in Rulindo District, Rwandan ICT minister Jean Philbert Nsengimana said the project is part of efforts to achieve universal digital inclusion.

He stressed the importance of digital literacy, saying everyone should be able to use digital services on a self-service basis, particularly digital financial services that facilitate people to save and conduct other transactions using technology devices.

The Smart Village Initiative aims to bridge the digital divide in rural Rwanda by bringing technological solutions and innovations to residents in order to enhance their daily lives, increase socio-economic opportunities and create jobs by increasing their access to ICT services.

On the other hand, the Digital Ambassadors Program (DAP) is a government plan to introduce to 5 million citizens to digital literacy and opportunities.

Under DAP, launched in partnership with Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT) Rwanda, 5,000 young Rwandans will be trained to act as Digital Ambassadors who will offer digital skills training to 5 million Rwandans by end of 2020 to enable them to be able to effectively make use of digital devices and platforms.

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