My personal Profile

Paul BARERA is the founder and Executive Director of Rwanda Telecentre Network (RTN). Paul is also the Chairman of Knowledge Network for African Community Telecentres (KNACT), an initiative led by United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). Recently, he was also designated as the first chair for NetAfrica initiative. Paul worked for the Rwanda government as Deputy Mayor dealing with socio-economic issues in local administration in 1998.These duties gave him a passion for rural development.

He started his career in Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) in 2004, when he founded the Nyamata Telecentre (Rwanda) in partnership with the Academy for Educational Development (AED). Since then, he is an active advocate of ICT4D in Africa, especially with regard to providing access to ICTs for rural and disadvantaged communities. Since 2005, Paul has been travelling in many African, Asian and European countries to meet telecentre practitioners and experts in the area of ICT4D. This international exposure has allowed him to assess various telecentre models in search for a suitable model for Rwanda. Paul is the co-author of the “handbook for 1,000 telecentres in Rwanda” which is to be launched soon.

Paul received numerous recognitions and awards from the government of Rwanda, including the prestigious “Intego award of excellence in bridging the digital divide”.