This was said by Brigit Helms, the Vice President of Technical Services at DAI, a global consultancy firm that supports development programs in more than 150 countries, at the launch of her book “Access for All” in Kigali on Thursday.
The American author, who has more than 30 years of experience in finding innovative private sector solutions to development problems in over 35 developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, said that Rwanda has proved that through good leadership, it is possible to include people at the bottom of the pyramid in the development process without leaving anybody behind.
“Rwanda has proved to us that there is enormous potential and that a lot can be achieved when there is good leadership doing all the right things,”
“The country is safe and it has improved on many indicators such as doing business, attracting investment and ensuring access to basic services for all. I can say that every time you look at what Rwanda is doing, you get a feeling that the Government of Rwanda has really been doing a lot,” Helms said.
Helms, considered a global authority in the fields of financial inclusion, development finance, and economic growth, said that over the years, Rwanda has shown that countries on the development path can make things happen through efficiency, proper allocation of resources and formulating appropriate policies that do not exclude people in the lowest levels of poverty.
“I think Rwanda is the only country that has more than five pages in my book because of the many examples that I picked from Rwanda which other developing countries could learn from,” Helms said.
In the 353-page book which focuses on how developing countries can build inclusive economic systems together with development partners, Helms highlighted the example of Rwanda which she said has taken a comprehensive approach to policy reform and formulation.
“Implementing policies that leveled the playing field, shrewdly tilting the playing field in the desired direction, and even occasionally taking control of key economic functions allowed Rwanda to jump more than 100 places in the World Bank’s Doing Business rankings between 2008 and 2015,” an excerpt from Helms book reads.
In the book, the Author also highlights a number of initiatives and national priorities started by the Government of Rwanda including Vision 2020 among others, which have seen the country triple Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from $216 per person in 2000 to $703 in 2016, as well as reforms that tremendously improved doing business.
The book also touches on a number of pro-financial inclusion policies and e-government services which have ensured that people equitably have access to services.
With a high percentage of the people with Identity Cards (87 percent) being able to open accounts or register sim cards to use for mobile money transactions, Rwanda has been able to achieve financial inclusion at the level of 89 percent since 2016. The growth is attributed to mobile money transactions.
The author also mentions Rwanda as the first country to adopt performance standards for drones in 2018 which saw the Rwandan government collaborate with a Silicon Valley startup Zipline to start delivering blood to patients in far-flung parts of the country.
In the book, which was officially launched in the US at the end of 2018, Helms argues that there is a wave of companies and people interested in doing social good through business including millennials coming up with startups, institutional investors, corporates, and donors, which provides a major opportunity to alleviate poverty around the world.
However, these funds need to be targeted in the correct way in order to have a real impact on people at the bottom of the pyramid – creating financial inclusion and ‘access for all.’
The author further argues that there are two key ways out of poverty, which are access to services and jobs.
During the launch in Kigali, Helms discussed in depth the content of the book and solutions it recommends that can lead to inclusive economic growth so that fewer and fewer people are left behind as economies develop and expand.
Panelists at the launch discussed how developing countries can leverage technology to create more jobs, particularly what is being done in Rwanda, as well as the challenges brought about by technological disruption.
Among the speakers on the topic “Access for All in a Digital Economy: The role of digital access in fostering inclusive & sustainable economic growth” was Henri Nyakarundi, the CEO of ARED Rwanda, a solar solutions company, Sangwa Rwabuhihi, the General Manager of Westerwelle Startup Haus Kigali, a Kigali-based startup house and Prof. Alfred Bizoza of University of Rwanda.
Others included George Rubagumya, the Country Director of Liason and Leonard Rugwabiza, the Economic Advisor at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN), who also highlighted the progress Rwanda has made in creating jobs as well as challenges and opportunities.
The book was published in partnership with DAI, which works on the frontlines of global development, transforming ideas into action and action into impact.
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