The Rwandan Ministry of ICT and Innovation, the City of Kigali, the French consulting firm Tactis and their partners are working to improve the sustainability of the city of Kigali through the implementation of an ambitious digital project: an innovative citizen's platform coupled with a network of sensors to monitor air quality. This project will be carried out thanks to a funding from the French Treasury.

The Kigali Sustainable City project is one of the first citizen platform project aimed at improving the sustainability and quality of life of urban populations in Africa. According to Hon. Minister of ICT of Rwanda, Paula Ingabire: "This project is very timely not only for Africa, but also for developed countries who are looking for ways to be more effective".

Replicable to other cities in Africa, this platform has the ambition to demonstrate how digital solutions can provide an appropriate response to the challenges of urbanization and population growth in Africa. As a reminder, by 2050, more than 1.2 billion Africans will be urban residents, representing three times more than today.

Why choosing Rwanda and the city of Kigali?

For several years now, the capital of Rwanda, under the leadership of President Paul Kagame, has been demonstrating a determination to become a technological hub in Africa. In addition to pilot projects and innovative policies, the Smart City Rwanda Masterplan sets out the objectives for transforming Rwandan urban areas into smart and sustainable cities.

First FASEP funding of the French Treasury in Rwanda

The FASEP is a grant from the French Treasury to finance feasibility studies or proof-of-concept for the benefit of public authorities. It is a grant intended to initiate projects carried out by French companies, with the dual objective of supporting export of French technology and helping developing countries implement sustainable projects. This is the first time that a FASEP has been granted by the French Treasury in Rwanda.

Why creating a citizen portal for the inhabitants of the city of Kigali?

The implementation of this participatory citizen portal will enable the inhabitants of the city of Kigali to interact with urban authorities and, thanks to digital technology, to be better integrated into the city's decision-making process. The citizen platform will enable:

• Improvement of the quality of life of the citizens
• Fast responsiveness of the city's services
• Communication between city and inhabitants to be well structured
• Implementation of new sustainable urban services
• Enhancement of Rwanda's reputation as a territory of innovation

Sustainability and air quality control thanks to an innovative network of sensors

In addition to fixed sensors installed on public buildings, the measurement of air quality in the city of Kigali will be supplemented by a network of geolocated mobile sensors installed on vehicles. These devices will be coupled with a visualization platform so that local authorities can monitor air quality in real time. The system will make it possible to :

• Observe in real time the air quality in the city
• Identify the most polluted areas
• Obtain reliable data on pollution sources
• Control the spread of respiratory diseases
• Use data for urban planning and public decision making

Discover more about the project:

Bernard Binagwaho is in charge of the development of Tactis in Africa, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, through the creation of the subsidiary in Kigali, Rwanda.

About Tactis :

Tactis is the French leader in digital planning and shared infrastructure projects. With more than 50% of its activities carried out in Africa and with the opening of two new branches in Kigali and Tunis, Tactis is a reference in digital development masterplans, broadband plans, regulation of shared infrastructures, universal service, connectivity of isolated villages, monitoring and control of fibre optic backbone, datacenter, towerco, fibreco, etc. Since 1995, Tactis has been supporting public and private stakeholders to provide them with business expertise in the fields of telecommunications infrastructures (FttH, 4G, 5G, Sat) and the development of "smart territories" (connected objects, data management, smart mobility, smart-grid, e-inclusion, citizen participation). Tactis is developing cutting-edge expertise in shared digital infrastructures (fixed and mobile connectivity, datacenters, etc.) with private players (operators, manufacturers, investors, etc.).

Technical partners of the project :

Atmotrack,

Ineris Developpement,

Spallian,

Streamwide,

Club of supporting organisations of the project:

CapDC
Digital Africa
Famoco
French City Brain
Smart Partners
Pole Systematic
Tractebel Engie