In the 15 years that TBI has been supporting the Rwandan government, our work has evolved from a small number of institutional-capacity-related interventions to several flagship projects in the economic and social spaces. Today, we’re working with the government on designing smart strategies, formulating responsive policies and ensuring agile delivery – all enabled by technology – to drive prosperity. As TBI’s deputy country director in Rwanda, I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate closely with high-level political leaders in areas such as industrial policy and youth empowerment – and I’m passionate about the potential for economic transformation to alleviate poverty and create jobs.
Last year TBI Rwanda made important progress delivering on existing workstreams and seeding new ones. We helped develop a strategy for improving Kigali's ranking in the Global Financial Centres Index and Rwanda’s placing in the Human Capital Index. We worked with the government to drive and enhance the foundational-learning agenda. TBI also supports the government in its development of high-value-adding sectors such as biotechnology and pharmaceutical manufacturing – work which reached an important milestone in 2023 with BioNTech’s establishment of an mRNA-vaccine-manufacturing unit. In the tech space, we helped bolster foundations for digital transformation and worked on specific sectors such as agriculture and health. One highlight was the launch of our partnership with Starlink and piloting its satellite-internet technology in Rwandan schools.
In 2024, TBI will continue building on these efforts, harnessing our unique approach to advance important projects and workstreams that can deliver transformative change. Here are our five focus areas for this year:
1. Exploring ways in which technology can help leaders reimagine how the state operates
At TBI, we believe that technology is the single biggest force driving change in the world today and that we must harness its power to revolutionise the way government serves its citizens. Reshaped by innovations such as artificial intelligence and digital identity, government in the 21st century can reimagine how it operates, who it partners with and what it prioritises in order to transform public services and fuel economic growth.
Rwanda’s leaders have a clear aspiration to transform their nation. The country was early to embrace a digitalisation agenda, putting foundational infrastructure in place from 2000 onwards as part of the Vision 2020 framework for national development. The government is now building on this work with its Vision 2050 roadmap aimed at driving the economy, and improving and modernising the lives of all Rwandans.
In 2024, therefore, TBI would like to explore more ways of complementing Rwanda’s strong foundations and bold ambitions with our concept of the reimagined state. An opportunity exists within the Vision 2050 framework, which covers areas such as agriculture, national competitiveness, and building accountable and capable state institutions, for technology to reshape how government works. In 2024 we will work to introduce new projects, develop new partnerships and explore new ways to further support Rwanda’s various sectors through digitalisation and innovation – and its advance towards that reimagined state.
2. Facilitating the delivery of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure
Another focus of our work this year is to continue facilitating the partnership between the government of Rwanda and Oracle to establish cloud-computing infrastructure. Having this crucial infrastructure in place will allow different sectors and groups to benefit from its services, foster innovation and catalyse Rwanda’s emergence as a tech hub.
In 2024 we expect to see the proposal for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) approved by the cabinet and the legal contracts finalised and signed. The government workloads and services to be migrated to OCI can then be identified and building work on the data-centre facility can begin. Meanwhile, selected programmes to help government professionals develop the skills necessary to harness this new enabling infrastructure will get underway through Oracle University.
3. Delivering the Farmer Management Information System
The Farmer Management Information System (FaMIS) is an important example of how technology can be used to deliver changes that build prosperity. This digital platform, which will bring different agricultural-information streams and services together within a single hub, is set to revolutionise agricultural practices, increase productivity and boost farmers’ market access, driving sustainable economic growth. With funding secured from German investment bank KfW and the World Bank, FaMIS will digitalise services for 4 million farmers, optimise resource allocation and generate actionable analytics by the end of this year. As part of this work, TBI supported renegotiations on annual operational costs for Rwanda’s digitalised national input-subsidy programme, resulting in a significant reduction in costs.
Work to deliver the platform has commenced and development is expected to be complete by the end of 2024. TBI is strengthening policy and implementation work to ensure the quality of the data, while a guiding framework will pave the way for the seamless integration of five critical systems into the platform, as well as future-proofing it. The FaMIS working group will foster coherence in digital delivery among decision-makers, and the platform’s application programming interface (API) will enable innovators and the private sector to access farming-sector data in a structured manner and optimise services.
TBI is also driving initiatives to bridge the digital divide by supporting smart-device access and digital-literacy programmes. Working with the Ministry of ICT and Innovation and South Africa-based phone manufacturer Mara, TBI has secured an allocation of 23,273 smart devices for extension workers, who advise and support farmers, aimed at enabling them to reach 500,000 farmers this year. Finally, TBI is exploring emerging technologies such as satellite monitoring and AI chatbots for 24/7 voice-advisory services, further propelling Rwanda's agricultural sector into the digital age. This comprehensive approach is positioning FaMIS to deliver significant gains for farmers, policymakers and the entire agricultural ecosystem.
4. Fostering an “Always On” approach to health care
One of our priorities at TBI, together with our partners in the Global Health Security Consortium, is to help nations prepare for the health-security challenges of tomorrow. Countries need resilient health systems that are “always on” and able to deliver high-quality routine health care and respond to global health crises. One key focus area is pathogen surveillance: developing the ability to detect and understand diseases more quickly and accurately, enabling early interventions and preventing infections spreading.
In 2024 we will work to align this concept with Rwanda’s domestic health agenda. We will begin with a proof-of-concept project, linking district-level health facilities with the Rwanda Biomedical Centre’s National Reference Laboratory, with the ultimate goal of decentralising the sampling and sequencing of specific pathogens. Relevant equipment has been procured, a local project manager will be onboarded soon and key implementation partners are in place to drive this project, which can serve as an important building block in the nation’s shift towards health preparedness.
5. Reflecting on the path to date – and charting a course forward
As we advance our initiatives in 2024, we also want to reflect on the 15 years that TBI has been working in Rwanda and celebrate the initiatives that we have successfully undertaken together with government leaders since we began our collaboration. This anniversary provides opportunities to assess what we have achieved, what we have not achieved and why. This will help us understand the actions we need to take going forward to help Rwanda meet the objectives it has set out in its developmental vision and deliver prosperity to its people.
Lead image: Getty