UNCTAD supports Rwanda to ease digital trade and make progress towards leaving the group of least developed countries.
As a landlocked economy undergoing massive transformation, Rwanda is increasingly gaining international attention for its forward-looking digital policies.
Such policies, in part, aim at boosting the country’s emerging digital economy through a coordinated “whole-of-government” approach, backed by a national e-commerce strategy recently published by UNCTAD.
“The national e-commerce strategy of Rwanda marks an important milestone in strengthening the country’s policy framework for easing digital trade,” said Shamika N. Sirimanne, UNCTAD’s director of technology and logistics.
The strategy outlines a five-year action plan to foster an enabling e-commerce environment in Rwanda, involving public and private sectors. It has detailed frameworks for governance, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
It’s the result of a long-standing partnership involving UNCTAD, the Rwandan government and the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Germany’s development agency known as GIZ, the International Trade Centre and the UN Commission on International Trade Law also contributed to the strategy.
Lever to exit least developed country status
Rwanda, one of the most densely populated nations in sub-Saharan Africa, has made progress towards graduating from the UN’s category of least developed countries, where it has been since 1971.
For example, over the past decade, mobile phone ownership has steadily increased, reaching 78.1% of Rwandans in 2022.
With the new strategy, experts are optimistic that Rwanda will better capitalize on e-commerce for the benefit of businesses and consumers, as well as optimize the delivery of government services.
“E-commerce growth is a unique opportunity to open access to international and local markets for our small and medium-sized enterprises,” said Jean Chrysostome Ngabitsinze, Rwanda’s minister of trade and industry.
“It can help strengthen the private sector’s contribution to national growth,” the minister added.
An evolving blueprint
At the heart of the strategy is Rwanda’s ambition to promote sustained and inclusive development through digitalization and e-commerce.
To do so, the strategy translates policy priorities into actionable initiatives covering areas such as e-commerce platforms, data, entrepreneurship, innovation, financial services and digital payment solutions, as well as access to finance.
The strategy also proposes reforms and measures to facilitate business through e-commerce – particularly for smaller companies – while combating risks facing consumers, such as fraud, insecure websites, unsafe payment means and breaches of data privacy.
Helping women thrive in e-commerce
Another key aspect of the strategy is enabling more Rwandan women – particularly those living in rural areas – to benefit from the digital economy.
The strategy therefore seeks to reduce telecommunication costs, while making it more affordable for women to use and own devices such as smart phones and computers to ease e-commerce.
It also includes initiatives to improve women’s digital skills and knowledge, as well as access to financial services to help grow their businesses.
Existing initiatives
The strategy also underscores the importance of existing initiatives to boost Rwandan women’s participation in e-commerce.
These include UNCTAD’s eTrade for Women initiative, under which Rwandan entrepreneur Clarisse Iribagiza served as one of UNCTAD’s first cohort of seven eTrade for Women advocates to inspire and support the next generation of women digital entrepreneurs in developing countries.
More broadly, UNCTAD’s e-commerce and digital economy programme assists developing economies to enhance their readiness to engage in e-commerce in a beneficial manner and integrate into the global digital economy.
It helps formulate national and regional e-commerce strategies through comprehensive diagnostics, policy advice and customized strategy development. (End)