Tourism is slowly reawakening in Rwanda, with a renewed focus on the local market.



It’s a quiet, warm afternoon in June at Rwanda’s iconic, otherwise busy Kigali Convention Center (KCC). The conference venue’s paved parking lot that’s normally teeming with cars, is grey and empty against the backdrop of the green hills. Inside the KCC’s domed facility are 18 venues that can host more than 5,000 delegates at any given time. All of them are painfully silent, just like the five-star Radisson Blu hotel next to it.



This is the first time it has been as quiet since its opening in 2016. The KCC resumed operations on July 1 after the easing of lockdown restrictions, but overall, the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferencing and exhibitions) industry in Rwanda was to host close to 147 events this year targeting a revenue of $88 million. Most of these have been postponed or canceled. The highly-anticipated 26th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, for instance, originally scheduled for June 22-27 and that would have brought together more than a thousand business and government leaders from The Commonwealth to Kigali, has been postponed to June next year.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



Five kilometers from the KCC, commercial passenger services at the Kigali International Airport that had been suspended are now slowly resuming, with national airline RwandAir announcing flights to select African routes and Dubai from August 1.



Rwanda recorded its first case of Covid-19 in mid-March and was one of the first few African countries to impose a strict and complete lockdown. As everywhere else, this has spelt bad news for the country’s leisure and business tourism sectors.&nbsp;



Take Ntende Hotel, a two-star facility owned by a 3,700-member cooperative of rice farmers called Coproriz. The cooperative’s members collected money to build the facility in Gatsibo district in the country’s Eastern Province in 2018. The hotel’s proximity to the Akagera National Park made it a big drawcard and all was well until Covid-19 changed everything.&nbsp;



James Karangwa, the hotel’s Investment Department Manager, explains that the outbreak resulted in the hotel suspending operations but it continued paying contracted staff and other fixed expenses. An even heavier burden was the repayment of a bank loan. A disheartened Karangwa says: “Having to meet such obligations whilst inoperative has affected us a great deal.”



Karangwa explains that, thankfully, the negative impact on the hotel business was cushioned by the group’s agri-business which was relatively less affected in the pandemic.



“The consequences would have been disastrous if we had not diversified our portfolio by investing in the cultivation of rice, maize and soya.”



The tourism and hospitality operators had been enduring the pain of Covid-19 since January, when the news about the virus first broke globally.



“There were already fears over the virus in January and many travelers cancelled their bookings while those that were here rushed back home to avoid being stuck,” recalls Wilson Habimana, founder of Wilson Tours and Travel Agency Ltd in Kigali. Of the 16 people his company employed before the outbreak, only four remain now.



“We have had a lot of cancellations from clients while others want their money back, hence, we had to do refund both for tours and tickets, which hasn’t been easy, as this pandemic caught the world unawares and it’s like most of the clients have lost the hope of traveling because of fear,” says Buwule Anna Fridah, a tour consultant, to FORBES AFRICA.



“As workers in the tourism industry, we have been affected by this pandemic because the source of our income has been closed,” concurs Ismael Nsengiyumva, a driver-guide, adding that investing in sectors other than tourism is one of the lessons he has learned from the crisis.



The pandemic has especially been a burden for new facilities such as the Epic Hotel &amp; Suites in Nyagatare district, in the Eastern Province of Rwanda. The four-star property opened in 2018; today, most of its workers have been sent home as the pandemic rendered them redundant.



“Since the lockdown, we certainly got affected; as most hotels, we had to lay off a large number of our workers. We came up with a policy to maintain the hotel in a semi-functional state because closing it would cost us a lot more [than] to restart,” says the chairman of its board, Alfred Ndabarasa. However, he expresses the hope of a recovery.



“The reopening of tourism and hospitality activities is helpful and we are gradually bringing our staff to work. Hopefully, by September, a big number would have returned to work if this problem does not persist.”



On June 16, a cabinet resolution that shone a glimmer of hope for the tourism and hospitality industry was released. “Domestic tourism and international tourism for visitors traveling [on] charter flights will resume,” read part of the statement. The government encouraged hotels to participate in domestic tourism promotion and offer conference services while adhering to strict health guidelines.&nbsp;



Earlier in the month, the government had launched a two-year fund for businesses affected by Covid-19. Dubbed the Economic Recovery Fund (ERF), it is to mobilize $200 million and designed to support enterprises highly impacted by the crisis so they can survive, restart work and safeguard employment.



An initial $100 million was allocated to the hotels sector loan refinancing as the cancellations of events and bookings due to the global lockdown and travel restrictions brought the sector to its knees, leading to a loss of over 90% of revenue.



Nsengiyumva Barakabuye, Chairman of the Rwanda Hospitality Association, commends the collaboration between the association and the government in responding to the crisis.



“We joined hands with the government in combating the pandemic through raising awareness to our members about Covid-19 and the measures to prevent its propagation,” he says.



“We requested for a tax waiver and economic stimulus. So far, so good. Although not all we requested was granted, the PAYE (Pay as You Earn) was waived for four months and a post Covid-19 Recovery Fund was put in place by the government.”



While the slow reopening of the tourism and hospitality sector has brought relief, Barakabuye says it’s yet to pick up. “Tourism activities have just been reopened. Borders are still closed and we are yet to start as members are preparing for the domestic market.”



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="800" height="600" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/The-Nyungwe-Canopy-Walkway-in-the-evening.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-47081" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/The-Nyungwe-Canopy-Walkway-in-the-evening.jpg 800w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/The-Nyungwe-Canopy-Walkway-in-the-evening-300x225.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/The-Nyungwe-Canopy-Walkway-in-the-evening-600x450.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/The-Nyungwe-Canopy-Walkway-in-the-evening-768x576.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption>The Nyungwe Canopy Walkway in the evening</figcaption></figure>



New opportunities in a crisis



Twentyfive-year-old Nostalgie Patrice studied software engineering in China and the United States. When he graduated in 2018, he wasn’t just nostalgic about his home country, he was also enthusiastic and prepared to use his newfound skills to seek opportunities in it. In March last year, he founded DTravela, a platform that aims to promote tourism and hospitality products digitally.



“I started DTravela after seeing how Rwanda was highly promoted as a tourism destination, and identified a business opportunity in unlocking its accessibility,” says Patrice.



But now, sales has suffered. “Covid-19 has strongly affected us because our clients are not operating. From March to June, we had almost zero sales,” he rues.



Going through this troublesome phase has been an uphill task. And like many others, he pivoted his business.&nbsp;



He revisited his idea of offering virtual tours, which had been disregarded by the many he had originally pitched it to. “When I took the proposal to different stakeholders prior to the pandemic, they could not understand its significance,” he says.



This time around, it was welcomed and supported. He makes a strong case for virtual tourism, which he considers an unexplored route to attracting tourists.



“We do teasers and that helps raise awareness about a place or product. By showcasing products and profiling people, we are able to attract tourists because research has shown that 80% of them do online searches before visiting,” says Patrice.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Last year, travel blog, Travel Lemming, voted Rwanda one of the top 30 emerging travel destinations worldwide for 2020 and the first in Africa. In addition to tourism partnerships with European topflight football clubs, 2020 was expected to be a good year for Rwanda’s tourism sector.&nbsp;



Furthermore, the Global Peace Index 2020 ranked ‘the land of a thousand hills’ as the second most peaceful country in the East African region after Tanzania and 14th in Africa, from 17th last year. It was all the more reason to believe 2020 would have been a landmark year for tourism in the country.



When Covid-19 was first identified in the country, the government suspended tourism and research activities in the three national parks namely Nyungwe, Gishwati-Mukura and the Volcanoes National Park, which are habitats of the renowned mountain gorillas and other primates.



Only Akagera National Park, home to ‘The Big Five’, remained temporarily open to visitors.



In the wake of the reopening of tourism, the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) has embarked on a promotional campaign for both Rwandan citizens and foreign visitors into these national attractions.



As Belise Kariza, Chief Tourism Officer at RDB, explains: “We’re seeing good trends since tourism reopened.



“We have 69 bookings for Volcanoes National Park in a span of a week which is a very good indication. Out of them, 42 have confirmed bookings.



&nbsp;“In terms of international tourists, they usually plan between one month-and-plus ahead of time but the good news is that we’ve got a lot of inquiries about the functionality of testing and more queries and hopefully we’re going to see international tourists arriving.”



She points out that the government’s strategy for tourism recovery will focus on domestic tourism while international tourism will be reopened in a phased manner.



Operators in the sector believe the pandemic should be an opportunity to strengthen indigenous tourism given the fact that international travel will take long to normalize. But Habimana of Wilson Tours and Travel Agency observes that traveling isn’t a passion for many Rwandese, especially now.



“Traveling isn’t a basic need and now people are stretched, some have lost their jobs, or had their salaries cut. It’s not easy to develop a package and convince them,” he says.



He believes offering promotional prices alone won’t be effective and recommends that the government also invests in behavior-change campaigns.



Rwanda’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic has been regarded by many as a success after the country made it to the list of 15 countries from where travelers are allowed into the European Union (EU) from July 1.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">&#8220;Using regional marketing and promotion strategies, countries can co-create programs and opportunities to recover, develop joint messages of solidarity to draw interests from travelers with a diversified product, pricing and packaging offers.” &#8211; Toyin Abiodun</blockquote>



Besides Rwanda, only Morocco and Tunisia are included from the continent, as the EU member states consider these countries safe due to their epidemiological situation related to the coronavirus.



While most of the pandemic-induced hardships appear to be in the past, the tourism and hospitality sector is far from getting back on its feet.



In order for it to rebound, experts say that a number of steps must be followed to ensure a balance between reopening whilst ensuring people are safe from the virus.



Toyin Abiodun, the Strategic Advisor at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, tells FORBES AFRICA the steps include dialogues with industry players to draw out short-term tailored practical measures, ensure adequacy of a variety of infrastructure components for travel to and from tourist locations and continuously send out strong messages on the safety and security African destinations offer foreign travelers. She also believes regional coordination would significantly support the sector’s recovery. “Using regional marketing and promotion strategies, countries can co-create programs and opportunities to recover, develop joint messages of solidarity to draw interests from travelers with a diversified product, pricing and packaging offers.”



Toyin adds that this would help reduce the adjustment costs associated with setting up individual protocol systems and ensure integration that enhances cross-country intel-sharing to restore traveler confidence.



Tour consultant Fridah advises that tour companies shouldn’t lose hope but rather keep on promoting their packages and revise their prices so as to be afloat.



“In addition, in cases where a company feels over-staffed, they shouldn’t fire their workers but rather come to an agreement to either pay them commission or half-salary because firing them will not bring in business.”



She explains that social media has been one of the ways she now promotes her business.



“I have been engaging with our audience on our social media handles, posting pictures for them not to lose hope [about] traveling again.”



Surely, the operative word is hope, not just for tourism, but for every industry on the planet now fighting for survival.



– By Steven Muvunyi

The-Kigali-Convention-Centres-design-is-inspired-by-traditional-Rwandan-baskets

Slowly But Surely: Tourism’s Renewal In Rwanda

In many ways, Covid-19 has been Africa’s ‘light bulb’ moment. As an example, a roundup of the new wave of pandemic-inspired innovations being tried and tested in the marketplace in hilly Rwanda.



As countries relentlessly dip into their depleting arsenal to creatively respond to the raging pandemic as also deploy new ideas to tackle it, in many ways, Covid-19 has been Africa’s ‘light bulb’ moment.



The new wave of innovations on the continent has seen governments, universities, corporates and small business rally together to come up with rejigged solutions and find effective ways to combat the crisis. In Rwanda, the ‘land of a thousand hills’ known for its tech startups and encouragement of new enterprise, a raft of new ideas are emerging, from clever face masks to ventilator machines, and food delivery apps to contact tracing apps and robots. We examine a few:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="400" height="400" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Clare-bio-pic-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-42376" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Clare-bio-pic-1.jpg 400w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Clare-bio-pic-1-300x300.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Clare-bio-pic-1-100x100.jpg 100w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Clare-bio-pic-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Clare-bio-pic-1-80x80.jpg 80w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" /><figcaption>CEO of Rwanda Development Board (RDB), Clare Akamanzi</figcaption></figure>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">&#8220;We have seen many exciting innovative responses from Rwandan entrepreneurs that have clearly demonstrated their great capacity to adapt and innovate for emerging situations.&#8221; &#8212; Clare Akamanzi, CEO of Rwanda Development Board (RDB)</blockquote>



Drones as loudspeakers?



With 30 employees and operating in six different countries in Africa, Eric Rutayisire’s drone company, Charis UAS, has worked on a number of projects in Rwanda, including spraying pesticides using drones on sites to quell mosquito breeding and malaria.



However, some of these projects came to a screeching halt when Covid-19 struck.



“Certain projects that were meant to kick off had to be stopped and we lost some revenue,” Rutayisire tells FORBES AFRICA.



The CEO says that he and his team had to quickly come up with an innovative way of joining the fight against the pandemic. They saw an opportunity to improve communication systems during the country’s total lockdown period.



“We identified gaps in the way information regarding the disease and the restriction guidelines was being passed to the community. The police would drive around in vehicles with loudspeakers communicating to people. So we approached them with the idea of using drones,” Rutayisire says.



The police quickly bought into the idea seeing as it would help limit human contact whilst also reach more people.



For this, the drones had to be slightly modified.



“We fitted the drones with megaphones and built a communication system that linked them to the police walkie-talkies, enabling them to broadcast messages from wherever they were.”



Three to four drones would be dispatched daily to various far-flung districts in Rwanda, with each drone operated by a team of two people.



Did the company make any profit for this new venture? “Our goal was not to make profits but to support the Rwandan government in the fight against this pandemic. Our company got increased visibility, but that was not our main goal,” says Rutayisire.



The use of drone technology in the fight against the coronavirus is not unique to Rwanda. Countries such as China used drones for crowd control whilst Australia developed a ‘pandemic drone’ to remotely detect and monitor individuals with infectious respiratory conditions.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/FABLAB-4-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-47050" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/FABLAB-4-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/FABLAB-4-scaled-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/FABLAB-4-scaled-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/FABLAB-4-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/FABLAB-4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/FABLAB-4-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Face shields as virus-busters



Never before has a commodity risen from ‘obscurity’ to becoming one of the world’s most coveted items of clothing. Face masks have instantly gone from exception to norm, and is the facial armor in the fight against Covid-19.



When the first case of Covid-19 was reported in Rwanda and it became apparent that masks would be essential in curtailing the spread, local garment manufacturing companies, and even neighborhood tailors, rose to the occasion to produce an array of masks to meet the rising demand.



Fabrication Laboratory, commonly known as FabLab Rwanda, which helps young innovators in the country turn their ideas into products, specifically in the hardware and electronics domain, saw an opportunity to produce a different kind of personal protective equipment – face shields.



According to FabLab’s General Manager, Danny Bizimana, his team decided to take a route that no one else in the country had taken before.



“There were too many textile companies in the country producing the face masks, so we decided to do the face shields because we knew that Rwanda ships them from China and they would soon be in short supply,” Bizimana explains.



Luckily for FabLab, the materials to manufacture the face shields are locally available.



“We chose simple, locally-available material to ensure that the production of the face shields can be sustained even through long periods of border closures.”&nbsp;



The company has been producing 500 face shields per day but with the re-opening of the economy, this number has risen.



“Our main clients were doctors, surgeons and dentists. However, now that the hospitality industry is operational, we are now supplying the face shields to hotels and have increased our production capacity to 700 units per day,” Bizimana says.



FabLab initially produced the face shield as its contribution to the national fight against the pandemic, but as demand for the product has been steadily growing, the company is now making profit. The mask economy is here to stay, with a study from Stanford University indicating that they are a crucial step in reopening the economy and can help ensure public safety in a post-Covid world.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/VENTILATOR-1-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-47051" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/VENTILATOR-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/VENTILATOR-1-scaled-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/VENTILATOR-1-scaled-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/VENTILATOR-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/VENTILATOR-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/VENTILATOR-1-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Locally-made ventilators



With the Covid-19 pandemic causing an unimaginable strain on health systems, one particular medical equipment has been in short supply – the ventilator machine.



The machine helps critically-ill patients who cannot breathe on their own, and is literally the difference between life and death for Covid-19 patients with acute respiratory complications.



So dire was the shortage that in Italy, which was Europe’s center of the Covid-19 outbreak, doctors were forced to make the difficult decision about who uses the ventilator machines and who doesn’t, even as Covid-19 patients flooded hospitals.



Rwanda, like most other African countries, only has a few of these life-saving machines, which are imported and cost anywhere from $25,000 and $50,000 apiece.



It is against this backdrop that biomedical engineers at the Integrated Polytechnic Regional College Kigali (IPRC) resolved to make them. According to IPRC Kigali Principal Engineer Diogène Mulindahabi, the biomedical engineers partnered with doctors at some of the local hospitals to develop a prototype.



“Within eight days, the team developed a prototype called Rwanda Emergency Ventilator (REV001) using locally-available materials. The machine they made met the minimum requirements for a patient ventilator,” says Mulindahabi.



The team of engineers also developed a second portable emergency ventilator prototype (REV002), which can be used in an ambulance.



“Since these are sensitive equipment to be used on the human body, we have to ensure they meet the required standards. We cannot afford to make mistakes. So the prototypes are going through a rigorous certification process,” says Mulindahabi.



The team at IPRC Kigali knocked on several doors in search of funds and managed to receive $20,000, which will be used to finalize the second version of the prototype. The institution is however still open to receiving more support that would go a long way in the mass production of the ventilators. But what will the final product cost once it hits the market?



Between $4,000 and $5,000.



“The country will save millions of dollars and have a locally manufactured product that works just as well as the imported ones. We also hope to take this product to other countries in the region,” says Mulindahabi.



Rwanda is not the only African country to have manufactured its own ventilators.



A team of students from Kenyatta University in Kenya also devised a ventilator machine that has met the standards of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).



Ghana and Uganda have also joined their African counterparts in taking the lead to produce home-grown ventilators.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/F98A4732-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-47052" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/F98A4732-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/F98A4732-scaled-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/F98A4732-scaled-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/F98A4732-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/F98A4732-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/F98A4732-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Blue-eyed caregivers 



In an age of social distancing, robots are now increasingly being used as frontline health workers in hospitals across the globe.



A study published in Science Robotics states: “Robots have the potential to be deployed for disinfection, delivering medications and food, measuring vital signs, and assisting border controls. As epidemics escalate, the potential roles of robotics are becoming increasingly clear.”



In partnership with the United Nations Development Programme, the Rwandan government acquired and deployed five smart anti-epidemic robots for use in two Covid-19 treatment centers and at the Kigali International Airport.



The blue-eyed robots, acquired through ZoraBots Africa Ltd, have Rwandan names such as Ikizere (hope), Ingabo (shield), Urumuri (light) and Akazuba (sun) that depict the country’s spirit and values.



The mobile robots also feature functions such as facial recognition, temperature screening, the ability to monitor patient status as well as save medical records.



According to Benjamin Karenzi, CEO of Zorabots Africa, the information collected by the robots can be used to inform policy-makers in case of future pandemics.



“The robots are able to capture and store all manner of data and this data can be used by decision-makers even in the future in case such a crisis reoccurs,” Karenzi said during an interview with CNBC Africa.



The pandemic has surely brought forth the crucial role of robotic technology and its power to safeguard and improve human lives. The fourth industrial revolution is surely here.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="885" height="1024" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/JEAN-HUBERT-2-885x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-47053" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/JEAN-HUBERT-2-885x1024.jpg 885w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/JEAN-HUBERT-2-300x347.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/JEAN-HUBERT-2-600x695.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/JEAN-HUBERT-2-259x300.jpg 259w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/JEAN-HUBERT-2-768x889.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/JEAN-HUBERT-2.jpg 933w" sizes="(max-width: 885px) 100vw, 885px" /><figcaption>Jean Hubert&#8217;s company specializes in mobile applications</figcaption></figure>



Contact tracing app



After the partial lifting of the lockdown, restaurants, hotels and businesses such as salons in Rwanda were instructed by the government to record the basic details of their clients such as names and phone numbers. This information would then be used to trace those who might have come in contact with infected patients.



This sparked an idea in Nkurayija Ishimwe Jean Hubert, Founder and CEO of Favouriapps Ltd, a software development company specializing in mobile applications, for a digital solution.



“The idea to record the data was noble but the method used was archaic. I saw an opportunity to create a digital application that would store the data,” says Hubert.



It took him five working days to come up with the app, complete with safety features to ensure the data was safe from hackers.



The next step was to get the right people to look in his direction. He took to Twitter.



Much to his delight, Rwanda&#8217;s Minister of ICT and Innovation, Paula Musoni, replied to his tweet asking him to send his ideas on email.



Hubert says he is now in talks with the ICT ministry. If approved, the app can be used at banks, supermarkets, restaurants and commercial buildings to digitally record the data of every person that comes through the doors.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="759" height="1024" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/JAMES-NJUGI--759x1024.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-47054" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/JAMES-NJUGI--759x1024.jpeg 759w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/JAMES-NJUGI--300x405.jpeg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/JAMES-NJUGI--600x809.jpeg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/JAMES-NJUGI--222x300.jpeg 222w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/JAMES-NJUGI--768x1036.jpeg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/JAMES-NJUGI-.jpeg 780w" sizes="(max-width: 759px) 100vw, 759px" /><figcaption>James Njugi&#8217;s Kikao was birthed out of the need to provide simple and affordable solutions.</figcaption></figure>



Ed-tech platform



Like many other industries, the education sector has not been spared by the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.



School compounds, which were abuzz with activity in January this year, stand deserted with an eerie silence. Others have been turned into Covid-19 quarantine centers even&nbsp; as learners, from primary school to universities, remain home.



Thankfully, there are now a number of free or low-cost, user-friendly digital communication tools that allow for a range of remote learning solutions.



Launched in Kenya in May this year, ed-tech platform Kikao, which is Swahili for ‘an important meeting’, is slowly gaining traction.



According to James Njugi, Co-founder, Manager, Partnerships and Strategy at Kikao, the platform was birthed out of the need to provide solutions that were simple and affordable.



“We did not want to reinvent the wheel, but just wanted to create a platform that was easy to use and would give the clients, whether six-year-olds or university students, a pleasant learning experience,&#8221; Njugi tells FORBES AFRICA.



So far, Kikao is being used by university students in Kenya, three civil service entities as well as Kenya’s National Defence College.



On the future of e-learning with schools slowly re-opening, Njugi says: “We cannot go back to how things used to be pre-Covid. The pace of learning has increased and knowledge is quickly increasing and learners, young and old alike, have been exposed to the numerous possibilities [of] ed-tech. E-learning should not be side-stepped in the post-Covid world, instead, it should complement the conventional learning methods.”



When all is said and done, how can this wave of innovation be sustained in the post-Covid world?



Robert Ochieng, CEO and Co-founder, Abojani Investment, Kenya, who is an expert on financial markets, innovation and technology, says that innovations need to leave the labs and hit the markets.



“An idea that has not been tested in the market remains just that: an idea. we need to focus on testing the innovations in the marketplace and making sales, that way, innovators will be encouraged to do more as they see their inventions put to good use,” says Ochieng.



He is also of the opinion that governments should increase their budget allocation for science, technology and innovation.



“African governments should increase funding for research and development to at least 1% of their national budgets and target to grow this to 3% over time. There is a direct correlation between investment in research and development at national level and the growth of GDP. This kind of vibrancy has seen the rise of tech innovation in countries like Israel,” Ochieng concludes.



– By Tesi Kaven

DRONE 2

What’s New And Exciting In The Land Of A Thousand Ideas

Advertorial by Rwanda Development Board



Since the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Rwanda has risen from $752million to $9.5 billion in 2018, and the GDP per capita has grown from $125.5 to $787 during the same period. Due to Rwanda’s internationally recognized universal access to healthcare policy called ‘Mutelle de Sante’ life expectancy has risen from 29 years in 1994 to 67 years in 2016. Inflation has fallen from 101% in 1995 to 1.1% in 2018 and Rwanda has jumped over 100 places in the World Bank Doing Business Index, today ranking 38th globally and 2nd in Africa.



&nbsp;Furthermore, with the
9 Year Basic Education policy, Rwanda has seen the average expected years of
schooling rise from 6.2 years in 1995 to 11.2 years in 2017. These numbers,
both the increases and decreases, are not merely statistics on paper, they
reveal a people who have taken the reins of destiny into their own hands.
Following the defeat of the genocidal forces by the Rwanda Patriotic Army
rebels led by now president, Paul Kagame, many highly qualified development
experts believed that the fabric of Rwandan society was irrevocably torn
asunder. Over one million people had been killed in less than 100 days, over 3
million had fled the country to refugee camps in Tanzania, Burundi and the DRC
(then Zaire), the national treasury was looted and there weren’t even pens and
paper in government departments.



&nbsp;Speaking to members
of the Australian chapter of the YPO (Young Presidents Organization) in May
last year President Kagame was asked this question, “experts say that a
turnaround from a cataclysmic event such as genocide is supposed to take a
century or at least a generation, how was Rwanda able to do so in only twenty
years”? President Kagame mentioned the main aspects of the Rwandan turnaround;
thinking big, having a vision, refusing to get stuck in the status quo,
believing in, and having faith in the vision and, lastly, making sure that the
journey is inclusive by bringing people in and creating possibilities for them
to make their contribution.



&nbsp;Rwanda does not have
the usual ingredients for economic transformation. It does not have a wealth of
natural resources such as oil or diamonds, it is landlocked, it has one of the
highest population densities in the world. However, Rwanda has a will to build
a better, more prosperous nation.



&nbsp;What Rwanda did was
put together a development plan called ‘Vision 2020’. This plan envisioned a Rwanda
that was middle-income and knowledge-based. With a GDP growth rate which was
dominated by double digits over the last 10 years, we are reaping the fruits of
the ambitious plan.



&nbsp;One of the fruits is
the emerging MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and events) sector. Who
could have imagined that 25 years after the Genocide against the Tutsi, Rwanda
would become home to one of the most iconic and most expensive buildings in
Africa, the KCC (Kigali Convention Center)? The KCC, a venue that includes a
five-star hotel and conference facilities that can host over 5,000 delegates,
will this year host, among other world class events, the Commonwealth Heads of
Government Meeting (CHOGM). To date, KCC has hosted the African Union Heads of
State summit, the Transform Africa summit as well as a myriad of regional and
international events and conferences.



&nbsp;The KCC has not been
the only such ‘out of the box’ investment that the Government of Rwanda has
made to create value where no one expected. A decade or so ago, the Government
insisted on building the country’s very first five-star hotel, the present-day
Kigali Serena hotel. Our development partners baulked at the investment, saying
that there was no need for such a high-end facility. The Government, believing in
its vision, went ahead and built the hotel thereby creating the anchor
accommodation facility that opened Rwanda to the opportunity of becoming a
regional destination for business travel and MICE. The country now has five
5-star hotels and more are opening up this year. Furthermore, high end
accommodation establishments have opened their branches across different parts
of Rwanda. To create the ecosystem that a vibrant MICE sector needed, the
national carrier Rwandair was established, investments in skills and capacity
building were made and the private sector was encouraged and supported to
invest in the sector.



&nbsp;Because the
Government refused to take a laissez-faire attitude to the development of the
MICE and the overall tourism sector, investments that we have registered in the
sector as the Rwanda Development Board have totaled $1.5 billion since the year
2000. Hotel rooms have increased from 623 in 2003 to 14, 866 in 2018, tourism
revenues have jumped from $131 million in 2006 to over $300 million with MICE
tourism revenue numbers growing from inconsequential numbers in 2000 to $55
million in 2018. We expect that all the numbers will grow by at least 10% per
year and projections show that the tourism sector will be worth $800 million by
the end of 2024.



&nbsp;This might seem
ambitious, but we believe in our vision and we are actively working towards
fulfilling it. That is why we partnered with different partners, including but
not limited to Arsenal FC and Paris Saint Germain, English and French football
teams respectively, to market Rwanda as a destination for tourism, MICE and
investment. That is why Rwandair is increasing both its fleet as well as its
destinations in Africa, North America, Europe and Asia and that is why we are
currently building a new international airport in Bugesera, on the outskirts of
Kigali, in partnership with Qatar. In addition, we have taken an active role in
building an Africa that freely trades with itself through the African
Continental Free Trade Area (ACTFA) and internally we have reformed both our
business environment and visa regimes.



The business community has followed our lead. Last year, we
registered over $2.4 billion in investments on the back of over 8% GDP growth.
Leading global businesses such as Volkswagen, Motorola Solutions, Andela and
Radisson today provide jobs to young Rwandans graduating from global
institutions of learning that are based in Rwanda such as Carnegie Mellon
University. In addition to the recent opening of the first smartphone factory
by Mara Phones; companies including Volkswagen (in partnership with Siemens),
Ampersand, and Safiride are also rolling out environment friendly transport
solutions through electric vehicles and motorcycles on the street of Kigali and
other parts of Rwanda.



 When we tell businesses that Rwanda is the right place to invest in, we are confident that they will find the right environment to thrive. Why? Because we built that environment.



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Mr. Zephanie Niyonkuru is the Deputy Chief Executive Officer, the Rwanda Development Board. The Rwanda Development Board is a one stop shop for investors, bringing business registration, investment promotion, tourism, ICT development, SMEs, human capacity development, privatization and specialist agencies under one institution.



&#8211; Zephanie Niyonkuru

27006621371_792cfd870e_k

Invest in Rwanda, A Country With Unconventional Vision And Leadership

CEO of Rwanda Development Board (RDB), Clare Akamanzi



Advertorial by Rwanda Development Board 



1. Looking at RDB’s ten-year journey, what did it take to get it here?



It took a bold vision by H.E. Pres Paul Kagame, and the
entire Government, to prioritize private sector development, as the driver of
Rwanda’s socio-economic transformation.&nbsp;
This formed the basis for the creation of the Rwanda Development Board,
as a one stop institution to provide key services, and expedite decisions
affecting investors as well as reforms for a very conducive business
environment. 



We wanted to bring all the agencies responsible for business
registration, investment/export promotion, privatization and specialist
agencies which support the priority sectors of ICT and tourism as well as SMEs
and human capacity development in the private sector all under one roof. This
meant less legwork for investors as they had one major institution to work
with, as well as time and financial savings for Government. 



This vision has paid off. Today, Rwanda, at 38th rank, is
the only Low-Income Country in the top 50 of the 2020 World Bank Ease of Doing
Business Report and is the 2nd easiest place to do business in Africa after
Mauritius. Consequently, Rwanda has been recognized as the top global reformer
by the World Bank with the highest number of implemented reforms over the last
ten years. 



Similarly, in terms of investments into Rwanda, last year we
surpassed the US$ 2 billion target for the first time in the country’s history,
with investments registered over US$ 2.006 billion in 2018 up from about US$
400 million registered in 2010. This is a sign of the continuous investor
confidence in Rwanda by both local and foreign investors. Tourism has also
doubled within the same period reaching over $400m today, while exports of our
key products in agriculture, minerals and manufactured products quadrupled over
the last decade.



As an institution, I am also proud to say that we are a
competitive employer, with many talented Rwandans are aspiring to join our
workforce, and be part of a unique opportunity to contribute to Rwanda’s
transformation. 



2. Rwanda’s seems to have claimed her place in the world, what did it take to achieve that?



Apart from the ambitious reforms that we have put in place
over the last decade, we have done our best to showcase Rwanda to the world as
the best place to invest and do business, the best place to set up a factory
and sell Made in Rwanda products as well as the best place to enjoy exciting
tourism offerings. 



Last year, we signed a strategic partnership with two major
global players, Arsenal Football Club in London and Alibaba from China. 



The deal with Arsenal aims to market the country under the
‘Visit Rwanda’ brand. Through the partnership, we have been able to increase
people’s knowledge and interest in Rwanda.



Let me illustrate. Since the announcement of the partnership
in May last year, we have seen a lot of interest especially through our online
presence:



• Within two weeks of the launch, 58 news stories reached a
global audience of 1.2 billion people;



• Google searches of Rwanda in the US increased by over
1000% for keywords like: ‘Visit Rwanda, Rwanda travel, Rwanda tourism, and
Kigali Rwanda hotels’.



• Visit Rwanda is now seen 35 million times each time
Arsenal plays.



• Visit Rwanda social media posts by Arsenal reach a direct
global audience of over 15 million people. 



In the same way, Rwanda partnered with Alibaba Group in October
2018 to bring Rwanda tourism packages closer to the Asian market through
Alibaba’s online travel platform, Fliggy, as well as Rwandan products through
Tmall. We are selling coffee and tourism on these platforms and will soon add
chillis.



We also participate in global platforms such as the World
Economic Forum, trade fairs, and investments forums to Showcase Rwanda to the
World. 



3. The country is still struggling to curb the balance of trade deficit, now what is being done deliberately to improve this position?



We are exploring different ways of solving the country’s
trade deficit by looking at ways to benefit from Rwanda’s strategic regional
positioning in order to increase exports as well as domestic manufacturing.



Rwanda has strategic access to four countries and a
catchment area of a consumer market of nearly 60 million people reachable by
road, barely four hours away from Kigali in all directions. This market has a
purchasing power of US$1-2 billion in basic fast-moving consumer goods and
another US$1.5 billion in consumer durables. To maximize the benefits from this
market, the Rwandan Government established Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to
enhance the country’s competitiveness as a commercial/logistics hub, taking
advantage of her natural strategic location through the promotion of export
oriented industrial activities as well as re-exports, manufacturing and
services.



Today, over 29 companies are already set up in the Kigali
SEZ and others have set up in the other SEZs located country-wide, manufacturing
made in Rwanda products using raw materials sourced from Rwanda, most of which
is exported after.



If you look at Rwanda’s 2018 exports, a big part of that
were processed products made by companies in the SEZs. For example, we have
Africa Improved Foods who make nutritious foods using soya, milk, maize among
other products. They buy from farmers, process then export it. Last year, they
exported goods worth almost US$ 30 million.



Soon we hope Rwandan companies will also start exporting
cars assembled by VW, phones made by Maraphones, pharmaceutical products made
by Cooperpharma.



Lastly, we are also growing exports in Services,
particularly tourism, innovation through our innovation ecosystem among others.




&nbsp;4.&nbsp; 70% of working population in agriculture with the coming of the fourth industrial revolution and a focus on manufacturing, is there a plan to reskill this population?



In terms of creating jobs, Rwanda has been creating new jobs
every year and targets to create over 1.5 million jobs over the next seven
years. To achieve this, industrialization is key to absorb our youth who can
move from agriculture to basic manufacturing. A very good example is in
garment-making. Pink Mango located in the Kigali SEZ will employ over 1,500
people. If we have 100 more businesses like Pink Mango in the SEZs, it would
have industrial parks as the primary source of jobs in Rwanda. We are also
preparing to move further in the industrial chain in order to take advantage of
the industrial revolution.&nbsp; This is
through investing in vocational training as well as world-class STEM education.
Carnegie Mellon University in Rwanda, for example has produced over 100
graduates over the last 10 years. Others training in STEM are Africa Leadership
University, African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), as well as the
University of Global Health University, in public health. 



5. What are the aims/goals for the next 10 years?



RDB’s vision is to work with our partners to transform Rwanda into a dynamic global hub for business, investment, and innovation.&nbsp; The next 10 years will deepen this goal. We will continue to foster and fast track private sector led economic growth across all sectors, and make Rwanda every investor’s first choice. Our best years are yet to come.

Clare bio pic

Rwanda Aspires To Become A Business And Innovation Hub In The Next Decade

The tiny East African nation has proven to be a role model for the continent.
During her November 2018 visit to Rwanda, World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva described the country as one that has enjoyed impressive growth and often has bold ambitions.
In recent years, at business summits across the world, it’s not uncommon to hear such praise about Rwanda. Various speakers have singled it out as one of the emerging economies to look out for in terms of investment opportunities, value for money and economic growth.
The statistics explain why Rwanda has become Africa’s poster child for progress. The country has reduced reliance on donations and currently, domestically funds about 84% of the budget up from about 36% two decades ago.
In the last fiscal year (2017-2018), the economy grew by 8.9%.
Barely 24 years after the horrific genocide against the Tutsi, when the East African nation lost over a million lives and the devastation left a trail of trauma and economic ruin, its achievements have often been described as miraculous.
<blockquote>At the center of the tiny country’s recovery is President Paul Kagame, who led the revolt that ended the genocide.</blockquote>
Kagame has led his country from penury to prosperity. His government has co-invested alongside private capital to reduce risk and create a more appealing proposition.
For instance, when one of Africa’s leading telecoms groups, MTN, was keen on entering the Rwandan market in 1998, the government boosted their confidence by purchasing a 20% stake in the company.
This was driven by an ambition to not only attract the firm to the country but to ensure citizens have access to affordable telecom services. Years later, the government offloaded its stake in the firm through an initial public offering, allowing citizens to be part of a meaningful income-generating firm.
MTN is just one example of the strategic approaches taken by the Kagame-led government. The same has been replicated in multiple sectors, including finance and agriculture.
The last two decades on the Rwandan economic front have also been characterized by improving the investment ecosystem to create interest from the international and local business community.
While most would concentrate on the odds against the country, such as its small size, and its landlocked location, amidst a volatile region, Kagame sought to give investors every reason to put their money in Rwanda.
In a continent that has always been associated with corruption, the Rwandan government adopted a zero-tolerance stance on graft.
This was paired with the improvement of service delivery across all sectors, eliminating the need for bribes to access public services.
<a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/interview/2018/10/19/paul-kagame-together-is-when-we-are-going-to-succeed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE | Paul Kagame: ‘Together Is When We Are Going To Succeed’</a>
The most recent Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International placed Rwanda as third least corrupt country in Africa.
The reforms have for the last two decades addressed challenges that have often kept investors up at night. Steps that are cumbersome in countries across the world, such as business registration, were eased to a six-hour activity, while tax declaration and registration were simplified to online processes.
The World Bank ranked Rwanda 29th globally in its 2018 Ease Of Doing Business Report and put it second in Africa. The index tracks business efficiency across the world.
Many African economies are known for distinct exports or income streams that have remained unchanged for years. Rwanda chose a different path by embarking on a concerted effort to diversify exports and revenue streams.
This approach has seen services become the leading driver of gross domestic product growth  in the last three years, taking over from agriculture.
Diversification has been achieved, in part, through an increased focus on tourism, driven by initiatives such as the Meetings Incentives Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) strategy which in less than five years placed Rwanda among the top conference destinations in Africa.
In May 2018, the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) ranked the capital Kigali as the third most popular conference and event destination on the continent, after Cape Town in South Africa, and Casablanca of Morocco.
The ranking considered as the country’s capacity to accommodate international meetings and events, together with landmark infrastructure such as a modern airport and a state-of-the-art conference center.
The country has projected doubling revenues from conference tourism.
<a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2018/08/15/a-country-on-a-roll/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE | A Country On A Roll</a>
According to Clare Akamanzi, the Chief Executive of the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), the country collected a total of $42 million from 192 conferences in 2017 and was projecting $74 million in 2018.
The diversification strategy has opened up investment opportunities for local and international investors (Marriott, Radisson Blu, Park Inn, Serena among others) and created thousands of jobs in the hospitality industry.
The Rwandan media was in November abuzz with news that all hotels in the country’s capital were fully booked for conferences during the month. Conference organizers and tour operators were also said to be stretched to capacity.
Statistics from the RDB indicate there were about 10,488 hotel rooms in the country in 2017, while aviation traffic is expected to grow to about 1,151,300 in 2018, from 926,571 in 2017.
The trend is expected to persist going forward. Rwanda will by the end of 2020 have a new modern airport located in the Bugesera District, a 25-minute drive from the capital.
While pursuing externally-driven growth, Kagame has not forgotten about the home front. This led his government to adopt a ‘Made in Rwanda’ strategy in 2016, which has reduced the trade deficit by about 36% and increased the value of total exports by about 69% from about $558 million to $943 million. Local producers have fast become empowered to produce for the local and export market.
The Rwandan leader has turned his attention to regional integration in the six-member East African Community to counter complaints about Africa’s small, fragmented markets.
The consolidated market of over 200 million citizens is more reassuring to investors and makes a business case for joint infrastructure projects such as the Standard Gauge Railway, which will connect the major Kenyan centers of Mombasa and Nairobi.
Lisa Kaestner, a practice manager for finance competitiveness and innovation at the International Finance Corporation, says: “I see Rwanda is keen on this and trying to support through the East African Community. This is one way to reduce the cost of doing business. If you look at it through the doing business lenses, all countries are trying to improve.”
Kagame’s continental mission has been evident in his various roles at the African Union (AU).
<blockquote>As the chairperson of the AU Reforms team, Kagame has advocated for less donor dependency and more sustainable funding by African states.</blockquote>
He has often challenged African countries who contribute less than 30% of the AU’s budget and turn to external donors with a begging bowl, which has been blamed for influencing the body’s decisions and priorities.
As  AU chair, Kagame has sought an adjustment of terms between Africa and the rest of the world for mutual benefit. This, he has argued, is more sustainable in the long run and presents an avenue for growth among all parties, as opposed to aid, which maintains dependence.
Months after assuming the chairmanship of the AU, in March 2018, Kagame hosted over 50 African heads of state and government in Kigali for the signing of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
As a trade bloc, the trade agreement envisions a continental market of 1.2 billion people, with a combined gross domestic product of more than $3.4 trillion.
So far, 49 countries have signed the agreement, with nine ratifications. The development is a huge step towards encouraging industrialization and job creation across Africa.
Peter Mathuki, Executive Director of the East African Business Council, says: “The country’s leadership is on grip to lift the EAC country to middle income level faster than most African countries. The fast economic growth is premised on pillars of good governance, easy-to-do business climate and zero tolerance to corruption… Rwanda is indeed Africa’s rising star and driver for economic transformation.”
&#8211; Collins Mwai

Kigali city view from Nyarugenge

Rwanda The Emerging Economy To Watch

I missed my flight from Nairobi to Kigali. The airport shuttle should have taken no longer than thirty minutes on a Sunday morning, but Kenya’s First Lady had made plans for a charity marathon in a city that is already notorious for its traffic jams. Two and a half hours later I arrive at check-in.
Fortunately, I am not the only one. Also turning up late are two representatives of the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) &#8211; the Rwandan government entity in charge of business and investment.  I had a meeting scheduled at their offices the next day; now we have an opportunity to discuss doing business in Rwanda over an airport lunch and afternoon tea. “If you bring all your documents I can issue your business license in six hours &#8211; one day at the most,” says Kellen Abatesi, the official responsible for business licenses.
Her colleague, Karim Tushabe, is calling Kigali. Unimpressed by the handling of our flight rescheduling, he senses room for improvement. “It will damage the image of RwandAir and our country,” he says with concern.
At Nairobi airport I get a first taste of Rwanda’s widely praised central business administration. Effectiveness and an eye for detail are high on the list, and this does not go unnoticed. The World Bank ranks Rwanda third on the continent for ease of doing business, following Mauritius and South Africa. Last year, this small country was the best global reformer regarding business regulations. It is one of the safest countries on the continent, with a low level of corruption; worthy benefits for any investor, especially with a stable GDP growth rate of about 8.8 percent.
Arriving in Kigali from busy Nairobi is rather like a spa experience. The city is spread across a number of picturesque green hills; the streets are calm and extremely clean. The RDB has arranged a meeting for me with Remote Partners, a project management firm that assists foreign investors through planning and implementation. It is led by two dynamic young men from the US and Israel. They have seen numerous firms come to Rwanda and do extremely well. “Rwanda has introduced and clinically operated an ecosystem very conducive to investors,” Trevor Green, the CEO of Remote Partners, tells me. “Not just in regard to minimizing investor hurdles, but also looking at institutional credibility. “
Also creating value for industrial firms are Rwanda’s Special Economic Zones. Each area is physically secure and administered by a single body, the RDB. It offers reduced tariffs and infrastructure services, with many plots still available.
Green is of the opinion that investing in Rwanda is, above all, a powerful business strategy: “It makes total sense to invest in Rwanda,” he says. “The ease of doing business here makes it the perfect lab for multinationals moving into Africa. But increasingly, I believe that companies could not opt for a better location for their headquarters or manufacturing. Not only do you have the East African Community with a single market of 150 million people on your doorstep, but investors can use Rwanda as a strategic corridor to Central and West Africa.”
In Green’s opinion, energy, infrastructure, and agriculture are the top investment sectors in Rwanda. The country needs 563 MW of electricity, but only 120 are currently produced. It imports over 50  million eggs every year from Uganda alone, I am told. Estimated ROI in Rwanda? Fifteen to twenty percent.
Philip Lucky, a Senior Information Officer for Investment Promotion and Implementation at the RDB, suggests that investors will do best in telecommunications, the service industry, tourism, agriculture, real estate, mining, and energy &#8211; in that order. He finds it difficult to keep the list short.
As always, Rwandans seem overly ambitious in their endeavor to be at the top. The fact that they are surrounded by regional giants DRC, Tanzania, and Kenya does not intimidate them: “We want to become a food basket in the region,” says Philip Lucky. “Horticulture, tea, coffee, dairy, and maize corn flour do very well, and we have plans to start flower production.”
As for Trevor Green and his colleague from Remote Partners, Rwanda is a long-term choice. And although English was made an official language alongside French, they want to stay ahead of the game and are now learning the local language, Kinyarwanda.
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Harnet Bokrezion is a senior international development consultant, the founder and CEO of Africa Business Jumpstart, and a Partner for Africa at Strategic Business Alliance (SBA).

Tag: Rwanda Development Board

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