Akaliza Keza Gara

Rwandan activist and entrepreneur

Akaliza Keza Gara is a Rwandan IT activist and entrepreneur. She is active in promoting the field to girls and has been recognised for her activism by awards from the Rwandan government and the International Telecommunication Union. Gara has founded a technology consultancy and website design company and an animation studio called Shaking Sun. She has been described as "one of the few young Rwandan women who have made significant strides in changing the face of technology in the country" and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community.

Quotes edit

  • Information and Communication Technology (ICT) not only affects the way we do business on the continent, but also plays a role in supporting services including education, health, disaster management and resource management.("Itumanaho n’ikoranabuhanga (ICT) ntibigira uruhare mu buryo dukora ibijyanye n’ubucuruzi ku mugabane, ahubwo biri no kugira uruhare mu gushyigikira serivisi zirimo uburezi, ubuzima, kurwanya ibiza no mu icungamutungo.")
  • If women are part of and can make up a huge part of the market for ICT products, they can also enjoy the available opportunities alongside men in the ICT industry from both developer and end-user perspective,
  • My commitment is to encourage more girls and women to join the ICT sector, but I also get the feeling that by establishing an animation studio this will showcase my innovations to help Rwandan children, by creating characters and settings that they can relate to and stories to entertain and inspire them
  • Technology can, and already does, play a huge role in Africa’s development,” she explains. “As is often said in Rwanda, it is cross cutting – in other words, it can come into play in all the other sectors of the economy. Technology is a tool and when used well, it improves the efficiency and impact of other development initiatives.
  • Yes, ICT has certainly played a role in my career through a number of ways, it has allowed me gain clients outside the country and helped promote my business ideas through social media and other platforms
    • "how-women-can-leverage-ict-to-claim-the-front-seat-in-transformation", The World Economic Forum kicked off yesterday, in Kigali Rwanda. Under the theme, Connecting Africa’s Resources through Digital Transformation, the forum calls for recognition of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in a journey that will see Africa develop faster. (May 11, 2016)
  • This is one of the many reasons I think it is important for both women and men to be involved in using ICT to find new approaches to tackling our nation’s challenges. I would encourage girls and women of any age to take some short ICT courses online or offline which can help build their confidence.
    • "how-women-can-leverage-ict-to-claim-the-front-seat-in-transformation", The World Economic Forum kicked off yesterday, in Kigali Rwanda. Under the theme, Connecting Africa’s Resources through Digital Transformation, the forum calls for recognition of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in a journey that will see Africa develop faster. (May 11, 2016)
  • I especially want to promote ICT among girls and women because many think that it is a man’s world—and it still is. But if you look at the history of computing you will find that women played an integral role as well.

External links edit

 
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