Africa's first 'Silicon Valley' to be built in Rwanda

By Abdoulaye Ibrahim Bachir

ANKARA (AA) - A multi-billion dollar project for the production and development of technology inspired by the U.S.'s Silicon Valley will be built in Rwanda's capital, Kigali.

The project will be co-financed by the Rwandan government and Africa50, an infrastructure investment platform founded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and African states.

It will be constructed under the name Kigali Innovation City (KIC), which will presumably create over 50,000 job opportunities annually.

The $2 billion project is to be built on an area of 70 hectares, and will consist of world-class universities, technology companies, biotech firms, and commercial centers.

Rwandan Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente said at the Africa Investment Forum: “This is an innovative effort, the first of its kind on the continent. It will have Pan-African development impact both in terms of economy and human capital.”

“Kigali Innovation City forms part of the Government of Rwanda’s Vision 2020 development program and National Strategy for Transformation 2017-2024.

It is one of the projects that aims at establishing Rwanda as a globally competitive knowledge-based economy,” Ngirente added.

Rwanda is not the first African country attempting to build a Silicon Valley in the continent. Kenya in 2008 and Ghana in 2013 planned such projects but failed to materialize them.

The East African nation recently launched Africa’s first electronic cross-border trade platform with the help of Alibaba Group’s Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP) to engage small businesses across the continent.