Rwanda has risen to become of the leading nations in Sub Saharan Africa in the in the use of technology, with a wide range of innovation projects that have attracted tech firms from across the world.
Positivo BGH, a South American firm has taken advantage of this unprecedented growth in the tiny East African nation by introducing the first ever, ‘Made in Rwanda’ laptops.
The firm’s manufacturing plant is located in Gasabo neighborhood in Kigali, the capital city.
It approached several African countries to operate in, but Rwanda moved fast.
“We had been talking to different African countries but I have to say Rwanda moved fast. They have a strong anti-corruption drive and the country has been growing at about 8 percent per annun for the last few year”’ Juan Ignacio Ponelli the firm’s president for Africa told BBC.
The firm is a joint venture between Positivo Informatica of Brazil and BGH of Argentina.
It started operating in the country in 2015 and produces 60 laptops per month. According to The Rwanda Focus, the average cost of a Positivo BGH laptop is Rwf 200, 000 ($265).
According to CNN, Positivo BGH has a deal with the Rwandese government to sell 150, 000 laptops each year. Most of them are meant for the educations sector.
This will boost the government’s efforts to ensure each of the 2.5 million children in primary school get a laptop in a plan dubbed, ‘One Laptop per child’.
Its operations in the country have seen the employment of 170 people, both directly and indirectly.
A majority of the experts in the firm’s line building computers are youthful Rwandese.
The government has an ambitious plan of increasing the percentage of her citizens online from the current 13 percent to 95 percent by the end of 2016.
This will be based on a rollout of a 4G network across the country.
Source
Celebrations for Madiba Day
It was a heart-warming exercise and the Relocation Africa team was proud to have played a small part of their own in contributing to our society on Madiba Day 2016.
South American Firm To Develop First ‘Made In Rwanda’ Laptop
Rwanda has risen to become of the leading nations in Sub Saharan Africa in the in the use of technology, with a wide range of innovation projects that have attracted tech firms from across the world.
Positivo BGH, a South American firm has taken advantage of this unprecedented growth in the tiny East African nation by introducing the first ever, ‘Made in Rwanda’ laptops.
The firm’s manufacturing plant is located in Gasabo neighborhood in Kigali, the capital city.
It approached several African countries to operate in, but Rwanda moved fast.
“We had been talking to different African countries but I have to say Rwanda moved fast. They have a strong anti-corruption drive and the country has been growing at about 8 percent per annun for the last few year”’ Juan Ignacio Ponelli the firm’s president for Africa told BBC.
The firm is a joint venture between Positivo Informatica of Brazil and BGH of Argentina.
It started operating in the country in 2015 and produces 60 laptops per month. According to The Rwanda Focus, the average cost of a Positivo BGH laptop is Rwf 200, 000 ($265).
According to CNN, Positivo BGH has a deal with the Rwandese government to sell 150, 000 laptops each year. Most of them are meant for the educations sector.
This will boost the government’s efforts to ensure each of the 2.5 million children in primary school get a laptop in a plan dubbed, ‘One Laptop per child’.
Its operations in the country have seen the employment of 170 people, both directly and indirectly.
A majority of the experts in the firm’s line building computers are youthful Rwandese.
The government has an ambitious plan of increasing the percentage of her citizens online from the current 13 percent to 95 percent by the end of 2016.
This will be based on a rollout of a 4G network across the country.
Source
U.S. Tourism Up 18 Percent To South Africa, Driven By Weak Rand
Travelers from all over the world took advantage of the weak rand in the first five months of 2015, choosing South Africa as a great value-for-money destination, BizCommunity reported.
Tourism from overseas markets to South Africa grew by 18.5 percent from January to May, compared to the same period in 2015, according to the latest release from Statistics SA.
All South Africa’s major overseas markets are performing well, said Derek Hanekom, minister of tourism. Traditional overseas markets including the U.S. have grown by 18 percent in 2016. Tourism from the U.K., South Africa’s leading overseas market, has grown by 13.7 percent. Germany was a top performer with 21 percent growth in tourism.
“The continuing growth in international tourist arrivals is wonderful news for the tourism sector,” Hanekom said. “It will have a multiplier effect on the many industries that support tourism, so it’s good news for the wider economy as well.”
South Africa isn’t the only country experiencing robust growth in international tourist arrivals.
Africa overall is up 7 percent, international tourist arrivals in Sub-Saharan Africa are up 13 percent, while in North Africa is down 8 percent, Hotel News Resource reported.
Source
Spectrum auction will boost SA economy – Vodacom
Johannesburg – South Africa’s biggest mobile network Vodacom [JSE:VOD] has given the thumbs up to a local plan to auction off radio frequency spectrum for high-speed broadband.
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) on Friday invited applicants to apply for spectrum licences in the 700MHz, 800MHz and 2.6GHz range.
Icasa said that the main aim of the licensing is to ensure nationwide broadband access for all citizens by 2020. The move is further expected to boost local mobile internet speeds.
Vodacom has previously also called for more access to frequencies as the mobile operator has resorted to refarming spectrum to provide limited LTE coverage in the country.
And Vodacom on Thursday, in its quarterly update to shareholders, welcomed the Icasa auction, which is expected to happen in January 2017.
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