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It ranked in the top four in the Report’s political empowerment category, in recognition of the high proportion of Rwandese women lawmakers and ministers.

The country, therefore, seemed a natural fit for a 2018 pilot program of the African Development Bank’s Coding for Employment initiative, with Nigeria, Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal.

The Coding for Employment flagship program is establishing 130 ICT centers for excellence in Africa, training 234,000 youths for employability and entrepreneurship to create over 9 million jobs.

Hendrina C. Doroba, Manager in the Education, Human Capital and Employment Division at the Bank, explains how Rwanda is empowering women in technology.

{{How has the government of Rwanda enabled women to pursue careers in technology, and STEM in general?}}

The government of Rwanda has been a foremost champion of women in ICT and in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (also known as STEM), by driving initiatives like the establishment of the Carnegie Mellon University-Africa campus, for which the Bank provided funding. Students from 17 different countries pursue highly specialized ICT skills at the Africa campus.

The country also hosts the African Institute of Mathematics (AIMS) which is now recruiting balanced cohorts of women and men. Lastly, the Bank-funded University of Rwanda College of Science and Technology has for many years produced women leaders in the ICT sector in Rwanda and globally.

Rwanda’s government also supports initiatives such as the Miss Geek Rwanda competition, an initiative of Girls in ICT Rwanda, which aims to encourage school-age girls, even those in remote areas, to develop innovative tech or business ideas and to generally immerse themselves in ICT. The Miss Geek initiative has now been rolled out in other countries in the region.

{{What role has the Bank played in supporting Rwanda’s digital strategy, especially in relation to women?}}

The strategy of the Bank’s Coding for Employment center of excellence in Rwanda has been to join forces with the Rwanda Coding Academy through a grant agreement to support the school’s activities, like ICT equipment, teacher training and career orientation. The Rwanda Coding Academy started in January 2019 and has so far enrolled one cohort, which is now going into their second year.

Besides the Rwanda Coding Academy, the Bank’s Coding for Employment program held a two-day masterclass for girls and young women entrepreneurs at the 2018 Youth Conneckt summit, where over 200 beneficiaries were trained in using digital tools to amplify their businesses.

The session was attended by women entrepreneurs as well as students from girl schools in Kigali, including those from White Dove School, which is an all-girl school fully dedicated to training in ICT. The masterclass culminated into a pitching exercise from various groups who presented their ideas to a panel of judges.

{{What lessons can other African countries learn from Rwanda’s approach to the 4IR, in particular the role of women?}}

The government of Rwanda has been a trailblazer in using innovation to improve public services across the country using the e-governance platform Irembo, to bring government services closer to citizens. In addition, the government is driving national digital skilling campaigns by championing digital ambassador programs and platforms such as Smart Africa, which has organized the annual Transform Africa summit since 2013.

Still, gender equality remains a concern, and gender gaps are evident even in schools. Rwanda’s ambitions extend to piloting the Kigali Innovation City, also Bank-funded, to serve as the country’s knowledge and innovation hub by attracting new businesses and incubating ideas.

At the same time, the country has created a business environment which is pro-entrepreneurship and welcomes global inventors to test their ideas and concepts. Zipline, a company which uses drones to deliver medical supplies in remote areas, is one example.

Lastly, Rwanda promotes women leaders in the ICT and innovation sector. The country’s Minister of ICT and Innovation is a woman, as is the CEO of the Irembo platform. Appointments such as these are helping to dispel the myth that women are not as capable as men in ICT.

{Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).}

All the suspects are members of ADEPR Church. They include 12 women and 11 men from different parts of the district, who had gathered for prayers.

They were found in the house of one Françine Mukantwari, 60, located in Kibirizi Sector, Mbuye Cell.

Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Sylvestre Twajamahoro, the Southern Region Police Spokesperson said that besides disregarding the government directives, which partly prohibit mass gatherings including religious services in this period; the room where they were found is very small, they were congested and had no facemasks.

“Local residents called the Police reporting serious violations. Indeed, we found 23 people congested in a tiny room praying, with no facemasks. Some of them had traveled from the neighboring sectors.

In any case where one is infected with Coronavirus, it was very easy to infect all others who were in the same room,” said CIP Twajamahoro.

The suspects, he said, were isolated at Kibirizi Police Station for further management.

CIP Twajamahoro warned against breaching the government orders and derailing efforts to combat the pandemic of COVID-19.

“People should understand that such prohibited gatherings don’t only put their lives at stake but also those of others in their families and communities, and hampering the government efforts to combat the virus. One infected person can easily infect the whole community, these behaviors shouldn’t be tolerated and should be reported,” the spokesperson said.

CIP Twajamahoro reminded members of the public to also follow other health and hygiene guidelines put in place, especially washing hands, avoiding handshakes and wearing facemasks.

He further warned that whoever breaches the directives meant to contain the spread of COVID-19 will be brought to book.

While appearing on ‘Waramutse Rwanda’, a morning talk-show on Rwanda Television on Monday, CP Kabera observed that ‘Ntabe Ari Njye’ literally translated as ‘I shouldn’t be the one’ campaign initiated by RNP is meant to effect change in people’s thinking and actions to make safer individual choices in compliance with the recommended directives and guidelines to contain the pandemic.

“Ntabe Ari Njye campaign looks at the individual character to make a choice not be the source for COVID-19 infections where you live, walk, in the vehicle or at work.

A choice to never shake hands or hug anyone; a choice to wash your hands well as many times as possible with clean water and soap or sanitize your hands; a choice to leave enough distance between you and another person; a choice to wear a facemask well covering your mouth and nose, to prioritise movements or avoid unnecessary movements including journeys,” said CP Kabera.

Although most businesses and movements, as well as the transport sector, resumed across the country, CP Kabera said that the global pandemic is still in our midst and these safety guidelines are compulsory and must be adhered to at all times to prevent catching or spreading the virus in your home, community, at work or while on your journeys.

On Sunday, June 21, the Ministry of Health reported 26 new COVID-19 cases that were diagnosed from 3,252 tests; 18 were detected in Rusizi district, two at Rusumo and 6 cases found in Kigali. Two of the cases detected in Kigali are taxi-moto operators.

“Before you board a motorcycle or vehicle, there are compulsory precautionary measures you have to take first. You must wash or sanitize your hands, the facemask should be worn properly; a distance must be left between two passengers in the vehicle and a helmet cleaned first for those using motos, wear fabrics inside the helmet and use cashless payment. The virus can be spread through many ways and the good choice you make is your safety and the safety of others around you.”

He warned motorcyclists, who breach the directives such as cashless payment, sharing fabrics with clients, not washing or sanitizing their hands or using water as sanitizer.