Kigali, Rwanda (PRWEB) May 15, 2017
Global Voice Group (GVG) attended the Transform Africa Summit under the theme Smart Cities: Fast Forward, and was a proud partner of the Summit. As part of the Summit, GVG hosted a conference on Governance Through Big Data with the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA), on Wednesday May 10.
The conference was very successful and well attended by ministers and government officials in ICT and related sectors; such as digital economy infrastructure, finance, health, education and energy, over 300 mayors of African cities, telecoms and utilities regulators, the heads of international and regional organisations, ICT industry leaders, innovators and investors, young innovators, small and medium businesses, entrepreneurs and innovators seeking business opportunities, non-governmental organisations, academics, consultants, thought leaders and digital thinkers. With such an illustrious gathering, many valuable insights and discussion points emerged.
Transform Africa Summit (TAS 2017) was designed to foster constructive conversation towards building a Smart Africa and facilitating meetings of like-minds —seeking policy and opportunities to accelerate the continent towards socio-economic transformation. The Summit brings leaders together to collaborate on new ways of accelerating Africa’s digital revolution.
Rwanda—of all the countries in Africa—has made enormous progress in communications, extending Internet accessibility, installing 2,300 kilometre fibre optic cabling nationwide, improving infrastructure and integrating ICTs, while prioritising e-Health and digital literacy initiatives. It has transformed itself into a nation that is progressing rapidly towards its ambitious vision for socio-economic development, peace and reconciliation.
As part of its participation and in partnership with the Summit, and the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA), GVG hosted its conference Governance Through Big Data on Wednesday May 10. GVG has been working with the RURA and the government of Rwanda since 2012 in an advisory capacity on issues relating to telecoms data control and regulation.
Governance Through Big Data has recently become a particularly hot topic as much has been written about the power and potential of Big Data and predictive analytics. The insights gathered from Big Data can help solve some of the biggest global business challenges and many of these are also applicable to the sphere of government and policy-making. The solutions Big Data can provide in the area of governance are of paramount importance to the governments of emerging countries.
The International Gateway Traffic Verification System (IGTVS), a joint initiative of GVG and the RURA is a comprehensive data solution allowing RURA to audit and monitor the networks in Rwanda independently and for a number of purposes: accurate billing, traffic measurement, quality of service assessment, market surveillance, dispute resolution and fraud management. Rwanda now has transparency and visibility into the international calls being terminated in the country. This has brought a proactive approach to ICT-based regulation and real-time data collection and has generated significant additional revenue for both the State and the local operators.
Rwanda’s successes are largely due to a collaborative effort between the country and ICT partners like GVG.
If the governments of emerging countries embrace revolutionary technologies, this will enable them to leapfrog many technological developments, develop Smart Cities, and accelerate the movement towards inclusivity in their countries - solving hunger, poverty, and creating sustainable jobs.
