The signing was witnessed by the Mayor of Kigali City Chantal Rwakazina and her Barcelona counterpart, Sara Berbel Sanchez.
Since April 2014, the Rwandan government launched the Smart Rwanda Master Plan which seeks to drive Rwanda toward a knowledge-based economy by the year 2020 by using ICT services that improve productivity and efficiency.
To support the Smart Kigali initiative, which is currently being implemented involves collaboration with local and international ICT firms, including Inmarsat, Nokia, Ericsson, and Intel as technology partners, to implement smart city solutions under a public-private partnership (PPP) model.
Municipality authorities in Rwanda emphasize that technology is key to enhance the delivery of services such as social welfare, security, rates payments and education in urban areas.
As cities become smarter they can drive sustainable economic growth and prosperity for their citizens.
The City of Kigali is among 16 finalists for the first edition of the Wellbeing City Award, the world’s first global competition recognizing city-led action on urban wellbeing.
It is an award that recognizes cities that place the wellbeing of their citizens at the center of urban design, planning, and policies.