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Mr Tongai Maramba, General Manager of Tigo Rwanda and The UN Resident Coordinator, Mr Lamin Manneh signing the Memorandum of Understanding between TIGO Rwanda and One UN Rwanda. Photo: One UN Rwanda/ Alice Kayibanda
Tigo Rwanda and UNDP Rwanda signed a Memorandum Of Understanding to collaborate and spur inclusive economic growth with acceleration towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Under this framework, the two institutions agreed to jointly develop corporate responsibility programs that will support Rwandans to acquire a digital lifestyle.
Speaking at the signing ceremony at Tigo’s technology innovation hub, THINK, in Kacyiru, The UNDP Resident Representative Lamin Manneh described the signing as “A ground breaking step to move forward with public-private partnerships in Rwanda to collectively support the implementation of the development priorities of the country”.
Under the deal, the two institutions agreed to jointly develop programmes that will support Rwandans to develop ICT solutions and solve their day-to-day problems. He said the joint initiatives will include development of mobile phone applications to ease access to health care, support agricultural productivity, and education.
Tongai Maramba, the CEO of Tigo Rwanda, said they have contributed $400,000 (Rwf276.5m) so far for the activities, noting that they were looking at enabling Rwandans live digital lifestyles.
Minister for Youth and ICT, Jean Philbert Nsengimana, commended the partnership, saying it was a ground-breaking step for public-private partnerships.
The joint activities include:
· Development of mobile applications that will enable Rwandans become economically independent.
· Development of any other mobile applications that will spur economic growth and alleviate poverty such as m-Health, m-Agriculture and m-Learning.
· Support to youth and women employment creation.
· Implementation of poverty alleviation activities, tackling woman and child health issues as a way of achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
· Planning and designing of Mobile Phone Technology related activities
Rwandan ICT entrepreneurs have been at the forefront of developing solutions that ease the livelihoods of Rwandans, especially those in rural areas.
