Rwanda Chamber

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  • Multimedia Academy to Open Next Week

    A multimedia academy, The Africa Digital Multimedia Academy the first in Africa, will commence lectures next week in Kigali.

    This was revealed yesterday, by the Director General of WDA, Jerome Gasana, during a press conference held at the academy premises in Nyarugenge District, Kigali city.

    He said WDA, in collaboration with Pixel Corps has already recruited 20 students for the first intake. Gasana noted that those who were recruited are already engaged in the multimedia industry.

    “Over 300 people applied for this training,” Gasana said.

    He added that after three months, the academy will recruit another batch of students. Initially the school was supposed to have started operating before the end of February, but according to Gasana, it was delayed because they were still procuring equipment for the academy.

    He noted that the school aims to equip Rwandans with multimedia skills, therefore unlocking the entire industry and encouraging innovation and creativity.

    The Government, through the WDA, has so far spent Rwf 100 million on the Academy. Various international companies have shown interest in providing more financial support to the school.

    Speaking to The New Times, Christopher Marler, the Program Manager at the Academy, the Pixel Corps are working with WDA to develop a curriculum and train instructors for the school.

    “The teaching equipment, which we have brought here, is as good as those used in the film production and Photoshop academies in the USA. In addition, part of our responsibility is also to connect the academy to other academies in the same field”.

  • Rwanda’s air traffic to rise by 50 proc, CAA says

    Rwanda’s air traffic will rise to 300 flights per week from 200 last year, Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority (RCAA), the sector regulator said, citing a rebound in economic activity that has attracted more airlines.

    Last year Rwanda’s aviation industry attracted interest from international players including Turkish Airways and Emirates Airlines while the national carrier stepped up efforts to increase its foothold in Africa.

    “We have been registering strong growth in flight traffic volumes since the beginning of last year, which is a result of a rebound in economic activities, increase in more airlines and new RwandAir’s routes,” RCAA’s Director General, Richard Masozera told Business Times.

    Masozera also said that two more airlines, South African Airways and Qatar Airways, are expected start direct flights to Kigali in the first quarter of the year.

    Turkish Airlines will open in second quarter, he said.

    Currently, Kigali International Airport (KIA) handles nine airlines, a combination of passenger airlines and cargo.

    “With the increase in airline traffic, we project an increase in passenger numbers from 400,000, by the end of last year, to 420,000 from scheduled flights by end of 2012,” Masozera said.

    RCAA is upgrading KIA to handle the rising traffic.

    “We have invested US$17 million in expanding and upgrading the airport standards to handle the flight/passenger volumes. The project will be completed in 15 months time,” he added.

    Recently, Qatar Airways received a nod from RCAA to start flights to KIA. The airline will be conducting daily flights from Doha to Kigali via Entebbe.