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Mobile internet penetration rate needs improvement to participate in the digital economy

ByWebmaster

May 28, 2021

BUJUMBURA May 27th (ABP) – The Minister of Communication, Information Technologies and Media in collaboration with the World Bank Group proceeded on Tuesday May 25, 2021 at the Panoramique hotel, to the launch of a dissemination workshop of a diagnostic study on the digital economy in Burundi.

The Minister of Communication, Information Technologies and Media, Mrs. Marie Chantal Nijimbere, said that in certain strategic axes, the PND 2018-2027, provides for the development of production support infrastructure, the strengthening of the education system and improving training as well as governance as key areas to achieve strong, inclusive, and sustained growth by 2027.

She added that for the implementation of the PND, the ministry has put in place a national policy for the development of information and communication technologies which will be made concrete through sectoral strategies, the overall vision of which is to make the ICT sector a catalyst for economic growth by 2027. In addition, according to Mrs. Nijimbere, the period of the COVID-19 pandemic that the world is going through has revealed that digital transformation must have a place in our society and in policies of governments, because the use of digital technology has become overwhelmingly necessary to overcome the challenges linked to the crisis.

She also pointed out that in Burundi the political will to develop the ICT sector which is a transversal sector obviously matches the mission of all stakeholders which is universal access to ICTs to achieve digital inclusion.

According to the minister in charge of ICTs, in Burundi this sector presents strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats and that is why a diagnostic and analytical study is important in order to bring concrete actions to boost the transformation of Burundi’s digital economy.

She also stressed that the report of the study on the digital economy in Burundi is a great opportunity that will enlighten all stakeholders in the ICT sector whether in decision-making, in the prioritization of actions or the implementation of policies in that sector.

Mrs. Nijimbere further clarified that the results from that study go hand in hand with the lines of intervention of the ministerial strategy for the ICT sector through the development of digital infrastructure through a well-regulated, attractive, productive and competitive digital sector ecosystem. And this is possible through the development of digital skills that will support the performance of the education system in accordance with national needs and international standards in this sector.

Existing infrastructure will also benefit from it through the use of platforms allowing the modernization of public administration services. This will contribute through digital inclusion to the offer of financial services; promoting financial inclusion for all and by promoting digital entrepreneurship which is one of the areas of intervention of the recently launched national program for the economic empowerment of young people by the President of the Republic of Burundi.

The resident representative of the World Bank in Burundi, Mrs. Véronique Kabongo said that the digital economy is one of the elements that will be able to accelerate the economic development of the country. She said that they have started to make the diagnosis to properly determine the areas of intervention necessary for that digital economy to become a reality as soon as possible.

She promised that based on the will of the government of Burundi, the World Bank will be able to invest in an important project to push digital technology in Burundi and all stakeholders are invited to participate in digital development.