TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND ICT

It has significantly reduced the cost of maintaining the bike, as all I have to do now is charge its battery once or twice a day," he said.( AFP 4/11 2024) Separately, Africa-focused e-mobility provider IZI on October 21st announced significant milestones in its mission to electrify Rwanda's public transport sector.In just four months of operation, the company says its initial fleet of five electric buses had demonstrated remarkable success.The buses have travelled over 74,000 electric kilometres, carried more than 250,000 passengers, saved operators 38% in running costs ($34,000 saved in diesel costs alone), and mitigated over 60 tonnes of CO2 emissions.Building on this success, IZI has secured a Rwandan francs 300m (approximately $222k) grant from the Rwanda Green Fund to deploy five additional electric buses in Kigali.The firm says these vehicles will represent the most advanced public transport in Rwanda to date, boasting features such as an independent intelligent driver's cabin, air suspension balanced driver's seat, full LCD dashboard, onestep entry, and a flat-floor design for improved passenger comfort.The success of IZI's pilot has led to strong demand from other Rwandan public bus operators.IZI has now signed contracts with 4 leading transport companies for the deployment of over 100 buses, marking a significant expansion of its operations.(africabusinesscommunities.com 21/10) UgandaA project to open up the country gets the green light.Uganda said on October 15th it had signed a $3bn deal with a Turkish company to build an electric railway line that will link the landlocked country to neighbouring Kenya.The Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) track will run from the Ugandan capital Kampala to Malaba on the border with Kenya, Transport Minister Katumba Wamala said."We signed a contract with Yapi Merkezi from Turkey for construction of a 272km line at a cost of 2.7bn," or $3bn, Wamala said.Uganda will finance the project using its own funds and credit from export credit organisations.Ambassador Richard Kabonero, the National Coordinator for the