World Bank provides US$100m to accelerate Rwanda’s digital transformation

Under the International Development Association’s (IDA) Scale Up Window, the World Bank Group endorsed US$100 million in financing to the Digital Acceleration Project in Rwanda. The project, which will be co-financed with US$100 million by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), will help the Government of Rwanda improve access to broadband and a number of digital public services and reinforce the digital innovation ecosystem in the country. To this aim, the project will promote digital access and adoption by launching a series of innovative digital access and inclusion initiatives, including supporting 250,000 households with financing to help acquire smart devices alongside training three million people in basic digital literacy. ‘The Rwanda Digital Acceleration Project encompasses all these elements and will contribute to Rwanda’s vision to become a knowledge-based economy and upper-middle-income country by 2035, by leveraging digital technologies to accelerate growth and poverty reduction,’ noted World Bank Country Manager for Rwanda Rolande Pryce.