The government of Rwanda has announced the launch of the Centre of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) which is said to be the first of its kind to be formally launched on the African continent. According to Rwanda’s Minister of information communication technology and innovation, Paula Ingabire, she disclosed that the launch was due to the rapid innovation witnessed in Africa during the peak of the covid-19 pandemic over the last two years, as well as the arrival of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
In the words of Rwanda President Paul Kagame “The launch of this centre is enabled by investment that we as a country have been making in science and technology. I hope the center will build on this by making the Fourth industrial revolution an equalizing force, and contributing solutions to some of today’s most pressing challenges. We are very happy to have the World Economic Forum as a partner in this crucial and other endeavors”.
I strongly commend the government of Rwanda for this remarkable project and for being the first in Africa to launch a centre of the Fourth industrial revolution. I am ecstatic to see that the African continent is also ensuring not to be left behind in the implementation of technological advancements to improve the country’s economy as well as other sectors. As they say, ” necessity is the mother of invention”, I believe that the government of Rwanda saw the need to establish a center of the industrial revolution in its country, as it will play an important role in contributing solutions to some of the country’s challenges.
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The launch of the center shows how visionary the leadership of Rwanda is as regards the implementation of technological advancements to solve problems in the country as well as improve the economy. In one of my articles, I wrote extensively on how the advancement of technological tools / the establishment of technological centers is boosting national economies. In the last few decades, there has been a drastic transformation as countries strive for economies driven by technology.
It is not far-fetched to say that countries that want to see their economy improve, must implement the use of technological tools/centers to achieve that. In the past years, Africa has been faced with the challenge of providing its youth with the right knowledge and skills needed for the emerging world. As the world constantly evolves into the stage of the industrial revolution of Artificial Intelligence, to harness the potential in the African region, the leaders of countries in the region must make rapid progress in seizing opportunities and overcoming challenges that the continent is often faced with by adopting this technological advancement.
As a region that has a great number of underdeveloped countries ravaged by so many problems, there is a need for countries in the African continent to adopt the system of the fourth industrial revolution, because it will greatly benefit them. The global labor market is increasingly adopting new technology, which poses a lot of advantages. It makes it easier for companies to automate routine tasks which shape time and efforts and the like.
In Labour markets across the globe, there is an evident change of transformation and disruptions already occurring. The fourth industrial revolution mainly involves the adoption of cyber-physical systems like the internet systems. Other African countries must take a cue from Rwanda, as the time has come for Africa to put itself at the very center of a new technological revolution. The undeniably strong entrepreneurial spirit of youths in the region, and the adoption of the fourth industrial revolution will give the continent a competitive advantage.
