IMF-移動互聯網、抵押品和銀行業(yè)務（英）

MobileInternet,Collateral,andBanking

AngeloD’Andrea,PatrickHitayezu,KangniKpodar,Nicola

Limodio,AndreaF.Presbitero

WP/24/70

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2024

MAR

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Higgins,JoeKaboski,JonasHjort,JoeKaboski,PeterKondor,ElianaLaFerrara,NanLi,KristinaManysheva,KarstenMuller,DanielParavisini,MarcoSanfilippo,AnatoliSegura,AndreiShleifer,AndreaTeseiandseminarparticipantsatBankofItaly,CSAEConference2024,BankofPortugal,ErasmusUniversity,InternationalMonetaryFund,LSE,MaastrichtUniverity,NationalUniversityofSingapore,STEGAnnualConference2024,TilburgUniversity,UniversityofNewSouthWales,UniversityofSydney,andUniversityofTechnologySydney.WearegratefultoDanielBjorkegrenforcommentsandsharinghisdatasetonincidentalcoverageandtoLEAPandElianaLaFerraraforsharingdataoncoverage.Thisdocumentisanoutputfromtheresearchinitiative‘StructuralTransformationandEconomicGrowth’(STEG,contractreferenceSTEGLOALRG001453),andtheIMF-FCDOprojectMacroeconomicResearchinLow-IncomeCountriesproject(MRLIC,projectID:60925),bothfundedbytheForeign,CommonwealthandDevelopmentOffice(FCDO).CamillaCherubini,IlariaDalBarco,andGabrieleBertuzziprovidedexcellentresearchassistance.TheviewsexpressedaresolelythoseoftheauthorsandshouldnotbeinterpretedasreflectingtheviewsoftheBankofItaly,theForeign,CommonwealthandDevelopmentOffice,theFERDI,theInternationalMonetaryFund,theirExecutiveBoards,ortheirmanagement.

?2024InternationalMonetaryFund

WP/24/70

IMFWorkingPaper

RES

MobileInternet,Collateral,andBanking

PreparedbyAngeloD’Andrea,PatrickHitayezu,KangniKpodar,NicolaLimodio,AndreaF.Presbitero*

AuthorizedfordistributionbyAqibAslam

March2024

IMFWorkingPapersdescriberesearchinprogressbytheauthor(s)andarepublishedtoelicit

commentsandtoencouragedebate.TheviewsexpressedinIMFWorkingPapersarethoseofthe

author(s)anddonotnecessarilyrepresenttheviewsoftheIMF,itsExecutiveBoard,orIMFmanagement.

ABSTRACT:Combiningadministrativedataoncredit,internetpenetrationandalandreforminRwanda,thispapershowsthatthecomplementaritybetweentechnologyandlawcanovercomefinancialfrictions.

Leveragingquasi-experimentalvariationin3Gavailabilityfromlightningstrikesandincidentalcoverage,we

showthatmobileconnectivitysteersborrowersfrommicrofinancetocommercialbanksandimprovesloan

terms.Theseeffectsarepartlyduetotheroleof3Ginternetinfacilitatingtheacquisitionoflandtitlesfromthereform,usedasacollateralforbankloansandmortgages.Wequantifythatthecollateral'savailabilitymediates35%oftheoveralleffectofmobileinternetoncreditand80%forcollateralizedloans.

JELClassificationNumbers:

G21,G23,O33

Keywords:

Banks;Credit;High-speedInternet;Mobile;TechnologicalChange

Author’sE-MailAddress:

APresbitero@,

KKpodar@

*Authors’contacts:AngeloD’Andrea,BankofItaly,e-mail:angelo.dandrea@bancaditalia.it;PatrickHitayezu,ResearchHub,e-mail:phitayezu@researchub.co.rw;KangniKpodar,InternationalMonetaryFundandFERDI,e-mail:KKpodar@;NicolaLimodio,BocconiUniversity,e-mail:nicola.limodio@unibocconi.it;AndreaF.Presbitero,InternationalMonetaryFundandCEPR,e-mail:apresbitero@.ThispaperhasbenefittedfromdiscussionswithandthesuggestionsofTimBesley,DianaBonfim,PedroBordalo,LorenzoCasaburi,VicenteCunat,SimeonDjankov,KimFeCramer,AndreaFabiani,NicolaGennaioli,DougGollin,Sean

1

1Introduction

Theinternethasbroughtlastingchangestocontemporarysocieties,exertinginfluenceonpolitical

engagement(Gavazzaetal.,

2019;

Enikolopovetal.,

2020;

ManacordaandTesei,

2020;

Guriev

etal.

,

2021),employmentopportunities(HjortandPoulsen,

2019;

BircanandDeHaas,

2020;

Bahia

etal.

,

2023),socialmedia(Braghierietal.,

2022;

Fujiwaraetal.,

2023),andmore,asreviewedby

HjortandTian

(2024).Atthesametime,digitalizationhasthepotentialtotransformfinancial

marketsandinstitutionsbyreducingthecostofsecuringpropertyrightsandstreamliningtheelectronicregistrationandtransferofassets,aligningwithseminalworksby

DeSoto

(2000),

Djankovetal.

(2007)and

Besleyetal.

(2012)

.

Thecomplementaritybetweentechnologyandlawcanamplifytheimpactofpropertyrightsreformsandalleviatetheclassicalfinancialfrictionspreventingaccesstofinance.Internethasthepotentialtodecreasethecostofparticipationinthesereforms,sincetheacquisitionofinformationandproperty-relateddocumentationbecomeslessexpensive.Atthesametime,technologycanfosterbroadersynergieswithfinancialinstitutions,astheycanverifypropertyrightsinrealtimeandestablishacollateralsystem,thusenablingindividualstoleveragetheirassetstoaccesscreditfrombanks.Suchatransformativeprocessisespeciallysignificantinlow-andmiddle-

incomecountriescharacterizedbyweakinstitutionalframeworks(LaPortaetal.,

1998;

Besley

andPersson

,

2011)andseverefinancialfrictions(deMeletal.,

2009;

KaboskiandTownsend,

2012

;

Kaboski,

2024)

.

Thispaperoffersanempiricalcontributiontoexaminingthiscomplementarity.Weinvesti-gatethecircumstancesunderwhichthecombinationoftechnologyandpropertyrightsexpandstherangeoffinancialoptionsavailabletoindividualsandenhancescreditallocation.Initially,weanalyzewhethertheintroductionofmobileinternetaffectstheborrowers’choiceoffinancialinstitutionsbetweenmicrofinanceinstitutions(MFIs)andcommercialbanks.Subsequently,wedelveintotheroleofcollateralinthisreallocationprocess.OurstudyiscenteredonRwanda,providinganidealsettingduetoitsextensiveadministrativedataonfinancialdecisions,areformthatintroducedadigitally-empoweredsystemofpropertyrightsandcollateral,alongwithdetailed

dataon3Gcoverage,theprimarysourceofinternetconnectivityatthetimeofthereform.

2

Ourempiricalinvestigationrequiresidentifyingsourcesofvariationinmobileinternetinde-pendentoflocalconfoundingfactors.Weleveragetwodistinctivegeographicalfeaturesthatweusetobuildinstrumentalvariables.First,theheterogeneousdistributionoflightningstrikesinRwanda’smunicipalitiesthataffectsthedevelopmentofmobileInternetinfrastructures,asout-linedin

ManacordaandTesei

(2020)Second,Rwanda’stopography,whichsignificantlyimpacts

itstelecommunications,asdemonstratedby

Yanagizawa-Drott

(2014),alsoincludingthehighly

unevenavailabilityof3Gtechnologyacrossthecountry.Inthisregard,weusethequantificationof“incidentalcoverage”by

Bj¨orkegren

(2019),whichmeasuresmobilesignalavailabilitybased

onidiosyncratictopographicfeatures,suchasamunicipality’sproximitytotheelectricgridanditslocationondifferentsidesofahill’sslopes

.1

Importantly,weshowthatthesetwosourcesofinternetavailabilityareexogenoustoanduncorrelatedwithincomeandotherpredetermined

characteristics.

Toconductourempiricaltests,weemployextensiveadministrativedatasourcesfromRwanda.Ourprimarydataset,obtainedfromtheCreditReferenceBureau,spansfrom2008to2015andincludesdetailedloan-levelinformationfromallregulatedcreditinstitutionsoperatingwithinRwanda.Inparticular,theregistryreportsinformationonallloansgrantedbybothcommercialbanksandMFIs,whichisessentialforourresearchanduncommoninmostcreditregistries.Thiscomprehensivedatasetincludesdetailsontheloanamount,lendingrate,collateralstatus,andborrowerattributeslikelocation,age,gender,andmaritalstatusforeachloan.Intotal,ourdatasetcomprisesinformationon113,897distinctindividualsacross337municipalities.Eachborrowerisuniquelyidentifiedbyanumericalcode,facilitatingthetrackingoftheirlendingengagements

overdifferenttimeperiodsandacrosslenders.

Weaugmentthisdatasetbyincorporatingdataon3GmobileinternetcoveragefromtheGSMAssociation,whichreportsannual3GcoverageacrossallRwandanmunicipalitiesfrom2008to

2015.Notably,theintroductionof3Gmobileinternetatthecountryleveloccurredin2011,

1AmunicipalityreferstothethirdleveladministrativesubdivisioninRwanda,correspondingtotheso-calledsector.Thereare5provincesinRwandathataresubdividedinto30districts.Eachdistrictisinturndividedintosectors.Overall,thereare416sectors.

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providingakeysourceoftime-seriesvariationininternetconnectivity.Wealsoaddinformationontheinstrumentalvariables,whichprovideasourceofcross-sectionalvariationbymunicipality.DataonlightningstrikefrequencyisobtainedfromtheGlobalHydrologyResourceCenter,whereas

dataonincidentalcoveragearefrom

Bj¨orkegren

(2019)

.

Finally,ouranalysisincorporatesinformationonadigitally-empoweredreformthatintroducedpropertyrightsandacollateralsystem.TheLandTenureRegularization(LTR)programmarkedtheinitiationofalandtenuresystem,accomplishedthroughthe“developmentandmaintenanceofthedigitalregistry”andthecreationof“digitalrecordsforover10millionlandparcels”connected

tobanksthroughthemortgageregistry(WorldBank,

2018,

2020).Toanalyzetheimplementation

ofthisreformanditsrelationtotheinternet,wecollaboratewiththeRwandaLandManagementandUseAuthority,buildingandexaminingnoveldataonthedistributionoflandcertificates,the

numberoftransactions,andtheshareofmortgagedlandsatthemunicipallevel.

OurprimaryfindingisthatthearrivalofmobileinternetinRwandaaffectedindividuals’financialdecision-makingandinducedareallocationawayfrommicrofinanceinstitutionstowardsbanking,withoutoveralleffectsoninclusion,echoingthefindingsof

BrezaandKinnan

(2021)in

India.OuranalysisrevealsthatincreasedmobileinternetavailabilityleadsindividualstoshiftfromMFIstocommercialbanks,asshownbya3.4%increaseintheprobabilityofhavingaloanfromacommercialbankanda3.6%decreaseintheprobabilityofhavinganMFIloaninresponsetoaonestandarddeviationincreasein3Gcoverage.Additionally,aonestandarddeviationincreasein3Gcoverageleadstoa1.1%higherprobabilitythatanMFIcustomerswitchestoacommercialbank.Thistransitiondoesnotalteroverallfinancialinclusion,definedasthelikelihood

ofindividualsreceivingaloanfromanyfinancialinstitution.

Tounderstandtheheterogeneitybehindtheseeffects,weobservethatsocioeconomicdiffer-encesbetweenmunicipalitiesarecentral,whileindividual-specifictraitsplaynodiscerniblerole.Thisunderscorestheinclusivenatureofinternettechnologiesinthiscontext,rejectingevidenceofdiscriminationbasedonobservablecharacteristicslikegender,maritalstatus,andage.Further-more,ourstudypresentsevidencehighlightingthepositiveimpactofmobileinternetonborrowing

opportunitiesandloancharacteristicsforindividualsaccessingbankloans.Borrowerswithaccess

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tomobileinternettendtohavelargeroutstandingloanamountswithoutadverseeffectsoninter-estrates.ForswitchersfromMFIstocommercialbanks,especiallythoseintheuppertailofthe

interestratedistribution,weobserveasignificantreductioninthelendingrate.

Afterverifyingthatmobileinternetinducesanexpansioninbankingatthedetrimentofmi-crofinance,weinvestigatethemechanismattheheartofthischange:mobileinternetpromotestheacquisitionoflandtitles,whichprovidesaccesstocollateralandthepossibilitytoborrowfrombanks.Ourfirstpieceofevidenceisthattheimplementationofthelandreformislarger,faster,andmoreeffectiveinmunicipalitieswithahighermobilecoverage.Wefindthataonestandarddeviationincreasein3Gcoverageleadstoa16percentagepointshigherlikelihoodthatthemunicipalityexperiencesadisbursementoflandtitlesexceeding50%ofthetotalinthefirst

yearofthereform,andanincreaseby14%ofthetotalnumberoftransactions.

Usingadditionaldatafromthelandregistry,weverifythatlandsarenotonlyclaimedmorepromptlyinareawithinternetaccess,butarealsousedtogainaccesstothefinancialsystem.Theshareofmortgagedlandsincreasessignificantlywiththepresenceofmobileinternet:aonestandarddeviationhigher3Gcoverageleadstoa1.7percentagepointhighershareofmortgagedlands.Weconcludeturningbacktothecreditbureaudataandexploitingthespecificinformationonwhetheraloanpresentsacollateralandwhetheritisamortgage.Ourfindingsindicatethattheprobabilityofreceivingacollateralizedbankloanoraloanclassifiedasmortgageincreasesby0.6and0.8percentagepoint,respectively,inresponsetoaonestandarddeviationincreaseinthe

3Gcoverage.

Theseresults,togetherwiththepreviousones,establishthatmobileinternetcontributesbothtotheexpansionofbankingandtoempoweringtheavailabilityoflandtitlesasaformofcollateral.Inthelasttests,wequantifytheroleofcollateralasamediatoroftheeffectofmobileinternetonbanking.Followingtheworkof

Doerretal.

(2022),weemployaSobel-Goodman(SG)test

andassessthemediationeffectoflandtitlesontheimpactof3Gcoverageontheprobabilityofreceivingabankloan.Thefindingsrevealthatapproximately35%oftheeffectofmobile

internetontheprobabilityofreceivingabankloanisindirectandfacilitatedbyourproxyofland

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certificates’availability,whereastheremaining65%isdirectlyattributedtomobileinternet

.2

Toprovideadditionalevidenceinlinewithourhypothesis,werepeatourestimationusingasdependentvariabletheprobabilityofreceivingacollateralizedloanandfindthatthedirecteffectofmobileinternetdecreasesto20%andisborderlinesignificant,whiletheeffectmediatedbythelandtitlesaccountsfor80%ofthetotalimpact.Thisquantificationpointstothepivotalroleof

collateralinsecuringamortgageandsteeringindividualsfromMFIstowardcommercialbanks.

Ourfindingsarerobusttoawiderangeoftests,changesinthesample,andmodelspecification.Wereplicateouranalysisatamoreaggregatedbank-municipality-yearlevelandfindthattheresultsremainunaffected.Then,wetestdifferentdefinitionsofthedependentvariables,themainpredictors,andtheinstrumentalvariables.Resultsarevalidwhenwereplacethemaininstrumentalvariables(lightningstrikesandincidentalcoverage)withpre-determinedphysicalcharacteristicsthatareinputsintothesevariables:thealtitudeofamunicipalityandthecoverageofwood,waterandsand.Thisdeliverssimilarestimates,withahigherprecisionandafirststageF-statisticexceeding100.Atthesametime,reduced-formestimatesforbothIVstrategiesshowresultsinlinewithourmainspecifications.Thefindingsarealsorobusttotheinclusionofcontrolvariables,aimingtocontrolformunicipalitytimetrends,andtotheconfoundingeffectsofreformsotherthantheexpansionofthe3G,suchastheintroductionoftheUmurengeSavingsandCreditCooperatives(U-SACCOs)andtherollingoutofthefiber,whichhappenedintheperiodcoveredinouranalysis.Finally,ourresultsonthemediationroleoflandcollateralarerobusttoafalsificationtestfocusingontheavailabilityofthefiber-optictechnologyandtheimplementation

ofasequentialg-estimationprocedurethatproducescomparablequantifications(Acharyaetal.,

2016)

.

Thispapercontributestotheliteratureonpropertyrightsandlegalsystemsbyshowinghowtechnologycaninteractwithlawtofacilitatetheacquisitionandutilizationofpropertyrights

foraccessingfinancialmarkets.

Aseminalworkby(LaPortaetal.,

1998)studiesproperty

2The“directeffect”ofmobileInternetisaresidualeffectandcatchesmanypotentialchannelsthroughwhich

theInternetmaymakeindividualsseekbankcredit:betterjobopportunities(HjortandPoulsen,

2019;

Caldarola

etal.,

2023),higherincome(Bahiaetal.,

2023;

Calderoneetal.,

2018),andlowerinformationfrictions(Gupta

etal.,

2023)

.

6

rights’legalrulesandenforcement,anditsimpactonstockmarketparticipation,inlinewith

Djankovetal.

(2007),whoemphasizespropertyrightsandthecollateral’spivotalroleincredit

marketdevelopment.Inthissetting,

Besleyetal.

(2012)showthatmoralhazardmattersfor

thewelfareeffectsofimprovedpropertyrightsandcollateralsystems.TwostudiesonBrazilby

PonticelliandAlencar

(2016)and

FazioandSilva

(2021)offerinterestingresultsshowing

thatimprovedenforcementaffectsfirms’accesstofinance,investment,andsize,andthatstrongercreditorprotectionaffectscreditallocationacrossspace.Ourresearchisespeciallyclosetoarecentpaperby

Djankovetal.

(2020),whoanalysecomprehensivedataontitlingandurbandevelopment

formultiplecountries.Theyobservethatnovelinformationtechnologiesdriveanimprovementinpropertyrightprotectionthroughareductionintimeandcost.Ourpaperresonateswiththisstudyandidentifiestheroleoftechnologyinpromotingbothformsofrightsthroughamajor

declineintheircostofacquisitionandenforcement.

Thepaperalsoconnectswiththeliteratureonlandtitles(BesleyandGhatak,

2010;

Besley

etal.

,

2012;

Manysheva,

2021)

.Tworecentpapersalsooffersinterestinginsightsrelatedtoourwork.

Montero

(2022)studiesalandreforminElSalvadorshowingthatcooperativeproperty

rightsaffectspecialization,productivity,andworkerequity.

Acamporaetal.

(2022)providea

randomsubsidytoincentiveownerstorentoutland,whichgenerateslong-termeffectssincethelandrentalmarketremainsactiveuponthesubsidyexpiration.Ourworkresonateswiththefindingsthatlandsmaybeinefficientlyallocatedandreformscanspurinvestmentandproductivity.Astrandofthisliteraturedirectlystudiestheeffectsoncreditavailability.

Alietal.

(2017)look

atthelandtenureregularizationprograminRwandaandsuggestthatitcouldexpandaccesstofinance.

DeiningerandGoyal

(2012)consideralandregistrycomputerizationinanIndian

statetoarguethatthisreformincreasedcreditsupplybyfacilitatingthirdpartyaccesstoregistryinformationandreducingbanks’costofextendingcredit.Wecontributebystudyingwithgranularadministrativedatahowthecomplementaritybetweeninternettechnologiesandalandreformalleviatefinancialfrictionsandallowthetransitionfrommicrofinancetocommercialbanks.Inthisrespect,thispaperalignswiththebroaderliteratureontherelevanceofcollateralforaccessing

bankcredit,ashighlightedbyrecentworkof

Ioannidouetal.

(2022),andtheimportanceof

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technologyinmortgagelending

Fusteretal.

(2019)andtheexpandingroleofhouseholdfinance

inemergingmarkets,asreviewedby

Badarinzaetal.

(2019)

.

Finally,ourresearchcontributestotheliteratureemphasizingtheroleofnewinternettech-nologiesininformationaccessanddissemination.Internettechnologies,notablymobileinternet,

impactvarioussocietalaspects,frompoliticalperceptions(Gurievetal.,

2021)tosocialorgani

-

zations,protests(ManacordaandTesei,

2020),andfinancialoutcomes(GaoandHuang,

2020;

Hvideetal.

,

2022).Wehighlighttheindirectimpactofmobileinternetoninformationspreadin

linkedmarkets,aligningwithcross-marketspillovereffectsdiscussedby

Bosetal.

(2018).Inthis

respect,ourpaperaddstoagrowingliteraturedocumentingtheimpactofnewITtechnologies

onbanking(CoreandDeMarco,

2021;

Kwanetal.,

2024;

Mazet-Sonilhac,

2021;

Linetal.,

2021;

Jiangetal.

,

2022;

PierriandTimmer,

2022;

D’Andreaetal.,

2023;

D’AndreaandLimodio,

2024)

.

Therestofthepaperisorganizedasfollows.Section2presentstheinstitutionalsettinginRwanda.Section3describesourdataandthemainempiricalspecifications.Section4presentstheresults,shedslightonthemechanismbehindourfindings,andprovidesrobustnesschecks.

Finally,Section5concludes.

2InstitutionalSetting

2.1CreditMarketinRwanda

Historically,Rwanda’screditmarketfacednumerouschallenges,includinglimitedaccesstofinanc-ing,lackoffinancialinfrastructure,andinadequateregulatoryframeworks.Theformalbankingsector,consistingofcommercialbanksandotherfinancialinstitutions,wasprimarilyconcentratedinurbanareas,leavingasignificantportionofthepopulation(aboutthreequartersofthepopu-lationisruralbased),particularlythoseengagedinagriculturalandinformalsectors,withlimited

accesstoformalcreditchannels.

Toaddressthefinancialneedsofunderservedpopulations,microfinanceinstitutionsemergedaskeyplayersinthecreditmarket.MFIsprovidedsmallloans,savingsaccounts,andother

financialservicestoindividuals,primarilyinruralandperi-urbanareas.Theseinstitutionsplayed

8

aroleinpromotingfinancialinclusion,especiallyformicroandsmall-scaleentrepreneurswholackedaccesstotraditionalbankingservices.Byleveraginggrouplendingmethodologiesandmaintainingcloserelationshipswithborrowers,MFIshelpedfillthegapleftbyformalbanksand

stimulatedeconomicactivityatthegrassrootslevel.

Inrecentyears,Rwandahasmadesignificantstridesinstrengtheningitscreditmarket,fos-teringfinancialsectordevelopment,andenhancingaccesstocreditforbothindividualsandbusi-nesses.Financialinclusionincreasedfrom48%to93%between2008and2020,andtheshareofadultpopulationusingservicesandproductsfromcommercialbanksincreasedfrom14to

36%overthesameperiod(AccesstoFinanceRwanda,

2020)

.Thesechangeshavebeendrivenbyacombinationoffactors,includingeconomicdevelopment,policyreforms,andtechnological

advancements.

Formalbankshavesensiblyexpandedtheirreach.Withimprovedregulatoryframeworksandtechnologicaladvancements,formalbankshavebeenabletoextendtheirservicestopreviouslyunderservedareas.Nowadays,theyofferawiderangeoffinancialproductsandservices,includ-ingloans,savingsaccounts,anddigitalbankingsolutions,andplayacentralroleinfacilitating

investments,supportingbusinesses,andpromotingeconomicgrowth.

Paralleltotheexpansionofformalbanking,therehasbeenashiftawayfrommicrofinanceinstitutionsastheprimarysourceofcreditforindividualsandsmallbusinesses.Whilemicrofinanceplayedanimportantroleinprovidingfinancialservicestotheunbankedpopulation,thegrowthofformalbankinghasgraduallyreducedtherelianceonmicrocredit.Thisshiftcanbeattributedtoseveralfactors,suchasincreasedawarenessandconfidenceinformalbankingsystems,improved

regulatoryframeworks,andtheavailabilityofalternativecreditoptions.

Inthispaper,weshowthattechnologicaladvancementshavecontributedtofacilitatingtheexpansionofformalbankingandthetransformationofthecreditmarketinRwanda.Inparticular,thewidespreadadoptionofmobileinternethasmadebankingproductsmoreaccessible,convenient,

andcost-effective.

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2.2MobileInternet

Inthelasttwodecades,Rwandahasmadesignificantstridesinimprovingitsinformationandcommunicationtechnology(ICT)connectivity.Followingthedevastatingcivilconflictfrom1990to1994,thecountryrecognizedthepotentialofICTsascatalystsforeconomicdevelopmentandgrowth.Inlinewiththisvision,the“Vision2020”programwaslaunchedin2000,aimingtotransformRwandaintoamiddle-incomeknowledgeeconomyby2020.ICTwasidentifiedas

oneofthekeydriversforachievingthisvision(GoR,

2012)

.ThisbeliefinthepotentialofnewtechnologieshasdrivenstrongactivismandpoliticalcommitmentinRwanda’sjourneytowards

ICTconnectivity.

Thegovernmenthastakenvariousstepstoestablishafoundationforhigh-speedconnections.Initially,thefocuswasonattractingprivate-sectorinvestmentsthroughtheintroductionofen-ablinglawsandtheestablishmentofaregulatoryauthorityfortheICTsector.Subsequently,thecountryprivatizeditsincumbenttelecommunicationsoperatorandfosteredwirelesscompetition,therebyencouragingadditionalprivate-sectorinvestments.Concurrently,thegovernmentensuredthatnewtechnologieswereaccessiblenationwide,notlimitedtocommerciallylucrativeareas.Finally,thetransparentanddedicatedpublicadministrationplayedacrucialroleinpromoting

ICTadoptionandbuildingtrustbetweenbusinessesandthegovernment(UN-OHRLLS,

2017)

.

MobiletechnologyhasbecomepervasiveinRwanda.In2015,thecountryrankedthirdinAfricaintermsofthepercentageofthepopulationcoveredby3G,followingSouthAfricaand

Lesotho(GSMA,

2015).TheRwandaUtilitiesRegulatoryAuthority(RURA)reported3.8million

mobileinternetsubscriptionsamongapopulationofalmost11.5million,surpassingtheaverageforthecontinentandleastdevelopedcountries.Theimpressivediffusionofmobiletechnologycanbeattributedtoseveralfactors,withaffordabilitybeingakeydriver.RwandaboaststhecheapestpricepergigabyteofdatainEastAfricawhenconsideredasapercentageofpercapitaincome.Consequently,itisoftenregardedasapositiveexampleforlow