Rwanda’s Minister of ICT and Innovation, Hon. Paula Ingabire, has urged African governments, businesses, and innovators to “converge, connect, and create” in building a future where the continent is not just a consumer of technology but a global powerhouse of digital innovation and excellence.
Speaking at the opening of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) Africa 2025 in Kigali, Minister Ingabire delivered a visionary address that underscored Rwanda’s digital transformation success story and called for deeper collaboration across the continent to unlock Africa’s full digital potential.
“Three years ago, when Rwanda first hosted MWC Africa, it marked a historic shift—from Africa being seen merely as a consumer of technology to becoming a driver of digital transformation,” she recalled.
Now, as MWC Africa returns to Kigali, Ingabire said the moment was not just about celebrating progress but about “setting bolder ambitions for the future.”
This year’s event—held under the theme “Converge, Connect, Create”—has drawn over 4,000 delegates from 109 countries, reflecting the continent’s growing importance in the global digital ecosystem.
Minister Ingabire highlighted Rwanda’s remarkable progress in expanding digital access and innovation.
She revealed that in just two years, Rwanda grew from half a million active businesses in 2023 to over five million 4G users by mid-2025—a tenfold increase driven by policy reforms, open competition, and strategic public-private partnerships.
The government also secured 60 gigabytes of bulk Internet capacity and oversaw MTN Rwanda’s rollout of 5G services, ensuring faster, more affordable connectivity for citizens across the country.
“Behind these numbers are real lives being transformed,” she said. “Rwanda’s vision is to create a competitive, inclusive broadband ecosystem that leaves no one behind.”
So far, nearly 1,000 health facilities and 4,000 schools have been connected to high-speed Internet, with a nationwide Digital Service Programme set to train 4.5 million citizens in digital literacy.
Through a $1 million innovation programme launched in 2024, Rwanda is nurturing a new generation of African developers and creators capable of designing digital products that serve the continent and the world.
“This is how we transform connectivity from an infrastructure challenge into a human capital opportunity,” Ingabire said.
Minister Ingabire’s message to the continent was clear: Africa’s digital revolution must be built on collaboration, innovation, and shared ambition.
“The future of mobile in Africa will be defined by collaboration,” she declared. “We must converge across governments, industries, and innovators. We must connect people, ideas, and markets. And we must create solutions that are designed in Africa, built for Africa, and scaled to the world.”
She urged African nations to move beyond being markets for imported solutions and instead become creators of globally competitive products rooted in local realities and creativity.
“Rwanda’s story shows that when vision meets partnership, progress follows. But our journey is not yet finished. The work ahead is to make Africa not just a market for innovation but a home of product excellence and digital leadership,” she concluded to a standing ovation.
As the lights of MWC Africa 2025 shine on Kigali, Ingabire’s call reverberates beyond Rwanda’s borders—a call for Africa to take charge of its digital destiny, to innovate boldly, and to ensure the next great technological leap is “made in Africa, by Africa, for the world.”
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