[kictanet] Rwanda Gets Localls Made/Assemled Handset

Sun Sep 7 22:44:20 EAT 2008

One set of facts is important to recognise, Rwanda unlike Kenya does  
not have much "bureaucratic legacy" so can pretty much evolve systems  
that work fast and scales and thats an advantage of coming from a  
"pretty bad" civil unrest. There are countries out of civil unrest  
who have not moved in this direction not to talk about that fast so  
it is not a given and am in no way underestimating the "smart" work  
of the Rwandans.

The United States has a system in place that works the "bureaucratic  
legacy" by making it better and more efficient because in some cases  
it is almost impossible to scrap everything but where it is possible,  
the pros and cons are taken into consideration.

The other day, i was suppose to go to Rwanda at a short notice and  
the issue of visa came up, upon registering at the Immigration  
website, i got an email after two hours confirming my visa issuance  
at the boarder upon presentation of the email record. Upon arrive  
after two hours, it took me 20 minutes to enter the country. However,  
for many years, i have not needed a visa to come to Kenya as a  
Ghanaian - you get the drift.

The other side is Kenya is pretty much a gateway to the region in  
more ways than not, and must be very proud of the leadership role. I  
have argued that we the determination and pace of the Rwandans, they  
could overtake many African nations but that also means that more  
stable countries like Kenya can resist the temptation of "first  
becoming last" by striking ahead forcefully. I agree with you, Dan,  
that speed is of essence.

Eric here

On 7 Sep 2008, at 10:56, Dan Njiriri wrote:

> Thanks Dr Ochuodho for sharing this new development in Rwanda.
> Unfortunately, Kenya is once again beaten at our own game, not  
> becaurse we lack, excellent technical manpower and facilities..,  
> but becaurse we are too slow in policy development! Rwanda has  
> carried the day, yet all the production parts pass through Kenya to  
> Rwanda!
> We should learn to be fast in what we want to achieve, and not take  
> years back and forth in board rooms.
> Dan Njiriri
>
> --- On Sat, 9/6/08, Shem Ochuodho <shemochuodho at yahoo.com> wrote:
> From: Shem Ochuodho <shemochuodho at yahoo.com>
> Subject: [kictanet] Rwanda Gets Localls Made/Assemled Handset
> To: njiris2000 at yahoo.com
> Cc: "Robert Onyango-Alai" <alai.robert at gmail.com>, "KICTAnet ICT  
> Policy Discussions" <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
> Date: Saturday, September 6, 2008, 6:08 AM
>
> Quoting: Rwanda ICT4D Community Network
>
> Rwanda get locally made handset -Network World 02/09/2008
>
> A-Link Technologies, a Chinese electronics company, has unveiled  
> its first mobile phone handsets manufactured in Rwanda. This makes  
> Rwanda the first country in the region to sell locally manufactured  
> mobile phones.
>
> The manufacturing of the handsets follows a memorandum of  
> understanding signed in 2006 between A-Link and the Rwanda  
> Information Technology Authority, the country's telecom regulator.
> Read the latest WhitePaper - Monitor the core and troubleshoot the  
> access layer with integrated network analysis solutions
>
> The company plans to start selling the phones, called "Alira," in  
> the 21 countries of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern  
> African after they are officially launched in October and once  
> production is stepped up, said A-Link CEO Yin Quing Ri.
>
> "One of the phone models has been programmed with Kinyarwanda  
> software so the Rwandese who uses their mother language can  
> communicate easily," Ri said.
>
> So far, the company has produced three models -- the A100, A200 and  
> A300 -- and promises that several other models are in the works.
>
> The phones feature color screens and radios, among other amenities.
>
> The plant is manufacturing 100 handsets per day, though it has the  
> capacity to produce 700 phones per day.
>
> A-Link began operating in Rwanda last year, as the country is  
> positioning itself to be an ICT hub in East Africa.
>
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Eric M.K Osiakwan
ICT Integrator
Internet Research
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emko at internetresearch.com.gh
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