The Rwandan ICT-led Socio-Economic Development Policy and Plan development process which is being supported by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) within the framework of the Africa Information Society Initiative (AISI) began in 1998. The process is divided into two phases. The first phase concentrated on the development of a comprehensive ICT-led Integrated Socio-Economic Development Framework for Rwanda (known as the Framework Document) and this was followed by the development of an ICT-led Integrated Socio-economic Policy for Rwanda. The Government now has in place a comprehensive set of ICT policies and strategies as detailed in the Government of Rwanda (GOR) ICT Policy document adopted by the Cabinet in early 2000.

The second phase of the process concentrated on the development of the 1st ICT Plan (2001 –2005) for Rwanda – the NICI-2005 Plan guided by the Government’s ICT Policies. This NICI Plan, the first of four to be developed within the framework of the Vision for Rwanda (VfR) is to serve as a cornerstone of the Government’s socio-economic development plan over the next five years starting 2001.

On the whole the Rwanda process yielded three output: a Policy, a Plan and Structures. The Policy was based on the Framework Document, while the Plan was developed to implement Government Policy Commitments. The Structures, namely the proposed National Information Technology Commission (NITC) and its Working Groups and the Rwandan Information Technology Authority (RITA) are designed to serve as national coordinating structures and bodies to support the development and the implementation of the NICI Plans. The three components resulting from the Rwanda process are therefore complimentary entities and part of a whole.

A report entitled "An Integrated ICT-led Socio-Economic Development Policy and Plan for Rwanda: 2001 - 2005" was submitted to His Excellency President Paul Kagame in March 2001. The first NICI Plan (2001-2005) laid the foundation for the development of Rwanda’s Information Society and economy. It focused on the development of human resource capacity, infrastructure, and the use of ICTs to support key sectors of the economy.

The second phase (2006-2010) is expected to lay emphasis on developing Rwanda’s production capacity in ICTs as an economic sector, while at the same time emphasizing its use to develop other sectors of the economy.

Rwanda was one of the first countries to develop and implement its NICI plan in accordance with the methodology developed within the framework of AISI. The first plan implementation ends in 2005 and there is need to start the development of the NICI Plan II. In this regard, ECA agreed with Government officials to assist the development of the NICI-2010 Plan, to be preceded by a comprehensive stock-taking exercise to review the implementation of the NICI-2005 Plan.

A NICI-2005 Plan Implementation Review workshop to undertake a comprehensive stock-taking exercise and to review the implementation of the NICI-2005 Plan took place from 27 - 28 June 2005. A comprehensive Report, "A Review of the Implementation of the Rwanda ICT4D/NICI-2005 Plan: the key achievements, lessons and the challenges" was prepared to serve as a basis for the development of the NICI-2010 Plan. It is expected that the methodology developed for undertaking the review process and compiling the Review Report could serve as a model for other African countries in a similar exercise. The Plan was finalized in September 2005 and submitted to Government for showcasing at the Tunis Summit.

The second NICI plan, "An Integrated ICT-led Socio-Economic Development Plan for Rwanda 2006-2010 (The NICI-2010 Plan)" was approved by Cabinet in September 2006.

The first plan implementation ended in 2005 and the Government requested development of the second NICI Plan (NICI-2010). The plan development was preceded by a comprehensive stock-taking exercise to review the implementation of the NICI-2005 Plan, which culminated with a stakeholder’s workshop in which participated all sectors of society. During the final review workshop held in Kigali in June 2005, it was decided that the 2nd NICI Plan (2006 to 2010)’s goal will be to support the strengthening of the economic base and improving the economic environment to accelerate development and growth towards achieving an information-rich knowledge-based society and economy. Cabinet approved the second NICI Plan in July 2006.

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