Rwanda to host e-government forum

Preparations for the third annual African e-government forum that Rwanda will host in March, have begun, reports IT News Africa.

Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation says the forum will see the participation of ministers of technology in the continent, heads of e-government projects, civil society leaders and representatives from IT organisations, including mobile operators among other stakeholders.

The organisation provides the international community with effective means to help bridge the digital divide and achieve social and economic development, by delivering to developing countries unique knowledge-sharing programmes in the use of ICT in the specific areas of telecommunications, IT, broadcasting and the Internet.

Zain is increasing its investments in Kenya by upgrading and expanding its networks to broaden its presence and market share in the rural areas, states IT News Africa.

The move is to capitalise on the considerable growth in its subscribers and potential in the rural areas, which are expected to become a pivotal market within Zain's array of operations this year.

“On the back of excellent market response in 2008, we are looking forward to expand our network and introduce new value added services like the M-Banking solution this quarter,” says Zain Kenya MD Rene Meza.

Warid Telecom has been named the best investor of 2008 during the annual awards ceremony at Hotel Africana, in Kampala, reports All Africa.

The telephony provider was rewarded with the gold accolade after investing $185 million (R1.86 billion) since it was licensed by the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) in 2006.

"Warid has invested in land, buildings, machinery and is employing 463 Ugandans and more than 10 000 others indirectly employed throughout the country," says UIA director Arthur Tukahiirwa.