Rwandan president Paul Kagame’s recent trip to the U.S. has got people talking, particularly about his emphasis on technology and education investment.
It is still too early to judge, but I am enthusiastic about the present Rwandan government investment strategy to initiate the necessary infrastructure to take the technological momentum and unlock the private sector possibilities- building of a national fibre network, roll out of national WiMAX access, a Kigali technology park and business incubator and external fibre landing stations to connect Rwanda to the coming east African undersea fibre. The strategies success or failure will hinge crucially on handover of the impetus to private sector actors. Indeed now it is up to private enterprise, foreign investment and the countries talent to sustain this momentum and fulfil Vision 2020’s ambition of Rwanda as a regional technology and telecommunications hub.
Says Jim Cust, writing for the Bottom Billion Blog.
Africa Unchained also linked to Kagame’s lecture at MIT.
President Kagame will also be visiting Stanford University this month. These are the details I have dug up for those who are interested and in the area:
The Impact of the Global Slowdown on Africa
President Paul Kagame, Republic of Rwanda
April 24, 2009, 4:00-6:00p.m.
Stanford Faculty Club
RSVP’s required and accepted on a first come first serve basis.
Stanford students must show Stanford ID.
RSVP Dafna Baldwin (650) 725-6668 or dafb@stanford.edu
Check it out and judge for yourself…
Melina Raquel Platas 
Thanks, usefull information. Hope people we get the chance to ask some questions.
HRW, politically movtaited etc etc. When he subsequently confessed in court to killings during the Genocide, did HRW apologise? Of course, not. They clearly did not investigate before making their allegations and feel under no obligation to do so. Compare with the UK where the tabloid News of the World has been closed after a scandal which has included phone hacking, payments to the police, a political class scared of the media and police force that did not do its job. But was this an attack on the freedom of speech as when lying tabloids were closed in Rwanda? Err HRW has been strangely silent on this. One rule for Rwanda and another for the UK? Well much HRW funding comes from the UK. Also a journo who spoke out about hacking and paying the Police died recently. Many had cause to be pleased, govt, police, media. But has HRW suggested that the govt must have been responsible? No they have been slient on that too. Finally, the idea that two nobody Rwandans might be at risk in the UK and suggested by the same police force that took money from the press and failed to investigate phone hacking? Not very credible is it? On Saturday another article in the Independent complaining about the UK’s slowness in recognising a Rwandan as a refugee and giving visas to her children but with attacks on Rwanda included. So is that what the Indy articles are all about? Trying to help a few Rwandans with their asylum applications?