Internet in Rwanda – A Baseline Study of User Needs and Communication Preferences

In the early stages Internet diffusion in Rwanda was constrained by security concerns of the government and the state-owned monopoly Internet Service Provider. Nowadays, the Government of Rwanda considers Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to be a key factor in achieving progress in economic and social development. In 2002, the government launched a comprehensive program (NICI Plan) to support the integration of ICT in Rwanda.

Positive effects of ICT depend strongly on the attitude and expectations of potential users. There are significantly different socio-economic dynamics, different user expectations and different user needs, in different parts of the
world. It is therefore necessary to ensure that initiatives are demand-driven and focused on what the public finds useful, and hence is willing to pay for. In the case of Rwanda, there is a lack of research which gives reliable evidence about the use and potential take up within the different subsystems.

The report describes and analyses applications and needs of current and future Internet users based on a three-month field study in Rwanda from October to December 2004. The sample includes users from Internet cafes and from private enterprises in five cities. The assessment focuses on three main factors affecting Internet use: access; information needs; computer and language skills. The study takes account of important social factors such as user perceptions, attitudes towards new technologies as well as socio-demographics.

Internet users in Rwanda face technical and financial problems. Analysis of the data shows there to be six major restraining factors inhibiting the use of the Internet. These are infrastructure (Internet connection, electricity supply), affordability, access to information, skills, availability of hard- and software and information quality. The main reasons for people not to use the Internet are the high costs and the lack of computer skills. However, current users consider the Internet as a helpful medium for private and professional use. For the vast majority of respondents, email is an easy and economical means of communication. The Internet gives access to information which cannot be obtained in any other way.

Contacts

Matthias Hostettler
Moserstrasse 16
3014 Bern
Switzerland
Email: matthias.hostettler@gmail.com

international institute of management in technology - iimt
Boulevard de Pérolles 90
1700 Fribourg
Switzerland
Email: iimt@unifr.ch

Juma Okech
Rwanda Information Technologies Authority (RITA)
Telecom House, Boulevard de L'Umuganda
PO Box 7229, Kigali
Rwanda
Email: juma@rita.rw