Connecting communities by creating digital opportunities in rural Rwanda

Brussels Policy Briefing Brussels,14th September 2011

European Commission, Building Borschette, Rue Froissart, 36- Brussels

by Paul BARERAExecutive Director, RTNpbarera@yahoo.fr;pbarera@rtnrwanda.org ww.rtnrwanda.org

Content

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1. The face of rural Rwanda2. Me and Nyamata Telecentre3. Taking the Nyamata model to 1,000 villages4. How does our model addresses development

challenges of rural Rwanda5. What I have learned….

Key specifications of a mid- size village in Rwanda

• Population size:5,000 people• Population under 35: 64%• Subsistence farmers:89%• Illiteracy rate:15%• Household with electricity:1.3%• Mob phone penetration

(General):30%• Internet

penetration(General):1.8%• Pop with less than 2

USD/day:62%

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Here is where my Ambition started...

2004:Paul is a graduate in

Management with a passion to setup

a rural ICT enterprise

2004:Paul establish Nyamata

Telecentre with the support of AED

In 2004 :it is a small centre with 6

computers,6 tables,6 chairs, all –in-

one printer and 2 employees

Today : the centre employs 25 full

time staff and more than 100 people

visit the centre every day4

To day the centre operates in its own building

The sustainability and impact are possible due to service diversification

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Financial Sustainability

We are in partnership with the government of Rwanda to replicate Nyamata model in 1,000 Rwandan villages

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Handbook for

1.000 Telecentres in Rwanda

August 2010 Paul BARERA Juriaan Deumer

Handbook for

1.000 Telecentres in Rwanda

August 2010 Paul BARERA Juriaan Deumer

•The 1,000 telecentre project is part of government priorities for NICI 2011-2015•The idea is to support local entrepreneurs to deploy and run Telecentres. Telecentres act as act as the first, the last and the most reliable point of delivery of key services to rural citizens.•So far 150 centers are operational and each centre employs at least 3 peoples. Our aim is to deploy additional 850 centers in coming 4 years.

Our model contributes to community development and increased market efficiency

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RTNTelecentres

Rwandan organizations

Community3) Community

development through ICT

access

2. Community employment

1) Product, service & information delivery channel for organizations

4) Product delivery channel for community

The network of telecentres results in improvements for Rwanda at all levels

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Local entrepreneur

• Steady income outside agriculture

• RTN services increase sustainability and impact of Telecentres

• Networking increases chance of success

Private and civil society organizations

• Efficient channel to deliver products, services and information to community

• Efficient channel to procure products from community

Government Institutions

• Efficient channel to deliver e-government services to community

• Government’s telecentres more efficiently run and more successful

Rwandan communityRwandan community

• Access to information and knowledge using ICT

• Employment opportunities

• Easy access to products, services and information

• Efficient product delivery

Rwanda as a countryRwanda as a country

• Essential step towards goal of knowledge-based economy

• Develop rural Rwanda and reduce urban migration

What I have learned…

Natural rural entrepreneurs have huge psychological barriers(lower self -esteem, fear of failure, depression etc…)

Rural entrepreneurs can reach out to villagers who are otherwise inaccessible

Local entrepreneurs can address critical development challenges which cannot be addressed by the government or large organisations

ICT should be viewed as tool and not an end in rural development

Demand driven Services are the key to sustainability of Telecentres

Every service should impact present concerns to become compelling applications

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THANK YOU AND WELCOME TO A COUNTRY OF THOUSAND HILLS

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