Rwanda has set a goal to ensure all of its residents have smartphone access within the next three years as a part of the Device Financing project under the Connect Rwanda blueprint.
In 2023, the government, in partnership with telecom companies, initiated a gadget financing scheme. This program permits residents to acquire handsets for $16 and in return, pay $1 per 1GB of data for 30 days, including unlimited texting.
According to Paula Ingabire, the Minister of Information, Communications Technology, and Innovation, when the deal was made, smartphone ownership was only at 23 percent. She shared with the media at the World Economic Forum in Davos that affordability is the main hindrance to smartphone ownership, as full payment upfront was previously required.
Therefore, the device financing project was designed to alleviate issues related to access, affordability, and digital literacy. Ingabire hopes that “in the next three years, at least every citizen will have this level of access that allows them to benefit directly.”
In collaboration with telecom carriers, the ministry has been gradually distributing 4G-capable handsets to citizens since October, beginning in the western Nyamasheke district and is now continuing in the southern district of Nyanza. The ultimate objective is for all 14 million citizens of the East African nation to have access to a 4G-enabled phone.
