I was recently in Rwanda to brief President Kagame on CBC’s programme for the coming months and discuss his involvement in the Commonwealth Business Forum to be held in Perth, Australia later this year. This was the first trip to Rwanda where I had the chance to get out and around and see some of the Country outside of Kigali.
I was impressed by the level of development visible outside of the capital, the roads we used to travel to the new Free Trade Zones the government are setting up to promote exports are world class. And one of President Kagame’s headline schemes to get Rwanda on-line, is nearly complete – this will open up huge new opportunities across the country.
Rwanda’s success has lessons for us all, President Kagame has lead an active international investment promotion campaign that is paying dividends. Much of Rwanda’s growth is driven by the Private Sector, giving the Government room to focus on the countries social needs.
During our discussions, President Kagame was keen to highlight the emerging investment opportunities in Rwanda’s power sector, including Hydro, Methane Gas and other renewable and in ICT. And he was particularly keen to highlight the opportunities in Agriculture, specifically Tea and Tea processing where the value addition is now being done inside Rwanda.
President Kagame will lead a business delegation to the Africa Investment Forum in Tanzania on April 17 -19, where many of the Projects he highlighted will be presented. I would encourage all of those with an interest to come along to the Forum as it will be a very important business event for East Africa and the Continent as a whole.
Showing posts with label Rwanda. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rwanda. Show all posts
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
Monday, 13 September 2010
President Kagame's inauguration
I was honoured to be invited by President Kagame for his inauguration last week. It was an amazing event that filled the Stadium to its capacity of 40,000 with 10s of thousands more watching on screens outside. The Event was attended by 14 Heads of State from across Africa, Ministers, Private Sector Leaders and representatives of International NGOs and Agencies.
The Event was not just the inauguration of Rwanda’s President but the inauguration of a new African Statesman, demonstrated by the level of support shown by visiting Heads of State.
President Kagame dedicated much of his speech to responding to his Critics on Human Rights and discussing the development successes in Rwanda. Anyone that has seen the changes in Rwanda over the last 10-15 years cannot fail to be impressed with the level of progress and development.
While NGOs and the International Media have a right to discuss Rwanda’s Human Rights, I hope they do it within the framework of the Development successes. Leaders like Kagame have to be engaged in Dialogue with constructive criticism rather than publicly hung.
Africa is changing, progress is being made on democracy and economic development and the continent should be engaged in recognition of its potential to be the next BRIC. Africa will be one of the key drivers of global growth over the next century. Let’s not miss this opportunity by failing to create mutually beneficial dialogue and consolidate our partnerships with the continent.
The Event was not just the inauguration of Rwanda’s President but the inauguration of a new African Statesman, demonstrated by the level of support shown by visiting Heads of State.
President Kagame dedicated much of his speech to responding to his Critics on Human Rights and discussing the development successes in Rwanda. Anyone that has seen the changes in Rwanda over the last 10-15 years cannot fail to be impressed with the level of progress and development.
While NGOs and the International Media have a right to discuss Rwanda’s Human Rights, I hope they do it within the framework of the Development successes. Leaders like Kagame have to be engaged in Dialogue with constructive criticism rather than publicly hung.
Africa is changing, progress is being made on democracy and economic development and the continent should be engaged in recognition of its potential to be the next BRIC. Africa will be one of the key drivers of global growth over the next century. Let’s not miss this opportunity by failing to create mutually beneficial dialogue and consolidate our partnerships with the continent.
Wednesday, 25 August 2010
Rwanda and one size fits all development
I was pleased to see President Kagame respond to his critics in the international media via a strong article in the FT last week. It is important that we pay vigilant attention to Human Rights issues across the globe, but President Kagame makes an important point that there is no ‘one size fits all’ path to development and democracy.
Given Rwanda’s recent history, we should praise the country’s success on the path to competitive democracy and continue working with the country to help them strengthen it.
President Kagame also argued that Africa must take responsibility for its own future, that Africa must devise its own solutions to its problems and that partners that work with Africa in this way will benefit. Africa Forging its own path is important for the future of the continent and President Kagame is an important advocate of this.
Given Rwanda’s recent history, we should praise the country’s success on the path to competitive democracy and continue working with the country to help them strengthen it.
President Kagame also argued that Africa must take responsibility for its own future, that Africa must devise its own solutions to its problems and that partners that work with Africa in this way will benefit. Africa Forging its own path is important for the future of the continent and President Kagame is an important advocate of this.
Wednesday, 26 May 2010
Rwanda Investment Forum
Last week CBC hosted the first international investment forum in Rwanda since the country joined the Commonwealth in November 2010. It was a pleasure to be back in Kigali with HE Paul Kagame and his team of Ministers who led the discussions at the Forum.
Rwanda has been a favourite destination of mine and CBC for the last 3 years and I am delighted that the Forum was a huge success. Over 300 delegates attended, nearly half of whom were made up from international investors, many visiting Rwanda for the first time. 10 Companies expressed an interest in setting up in Rwanda, including a large Indian ICT company, which will set up its Africa office in Kigali and also several proposals in Agriculture and Agri-processing.
I would like to express my personal gratitude to the British High Commissioner in Rwanda for hosting a reception for the international delegation, and to his wife for graciously preparing sushi for the guests. Another highlight of the Trip was a Commonwealth Vs Rwanda cricket match that very diplomatically resulted in a draw. Rwanda, with only 3 months membership under its belt is already acting as if it has been a member for years!
I am sure contributions and leadership of HE Paul Kagame will be very noticeable at all future commonwealth deliberations.
Rwanda has been a favourite destination of mine and CBC for the last 3 years and I am delighted that the Forum was a huge success. Over 300 delegates attended, nearly half of whom were made up from international investors, many visiting Rwanda for the first time. 10 Companies expressed an interest in setting up in Rwanda, including a large Indian ICT company, which will set up its Africa office in Kigali and also several proposals in Agriculture and Agri-processing.
I would like to express my personal gratitude to the British High Commissioner in Rwanda for hosting a reception for the international delegation, and to his wife for graciously preparing sushi for the guests. Another highlight of the Trip was a Commonwealth Vs Rwanda cricket match that very diplomatically resulted in a draw. Rwanda, with only 3 months membership under its belt is already acting as if it has been a member for years!
I am sure contributions and leadership of HE Paul Kagame will be very noticeable at all future commonwealth deliberations.
Wednesday, 25 March 2009
Africa to buck recessionary trend
While visiting East Africa last week I had the opportunity to meet with both President Museveni of Uganda and President Kagame of Rwanda to discuss the global financial crisis. It is apparent that there is a lot of innovative thinking going on in Africa right now, around how to resist the severe impact of the Global crisis and maintain the flow of FDI.
A Recent article in Time Magazine ‘Africa a Business Destination’ demonstrated this, reporting that while ‘Africa, usually the poorest performing region in the world economy, is now likely to be among the best-performing’. A consequence of not venturing into the derivatives markets or subprime lending as the west did has left the continent relatively immune to the Global Crisis. While recent the latest estimates for global growth this year look bleak, the same article reports that Africa will ‘buck the recessionary trend’ and grow over 3% this year.
New ideas are emerging regarding investment in Africa in sectors such as Agriculture, Infrastructure and ICT. It is a new reliance on business as cash rich countries such as China and the Middle East look for new markets in which to invest, that will fuel this growth. Even the Investment funds in the UK, Europe and the US are beginning to take serious notice of Africa as an investment destination, practically the agriculture sector.
A Recent article in Time Magazine ‘Africa a Business Destination’ demonstrated this, reporting that while ‘Africa, usually the poorest performing region in the world economy, is now likely to be among the best-performing’. A consequence of not venturing into the derivatives markets or subprime lending as the west did has left the continent relatively immune to the Global Crisis. While recent the latest estimates for global growth this year look bleak, the same article reports that Africa will ‘buck the recessionary trend’ and grow over 3% this year.
New ideas are emerging regarding investment in Africa in sectors such as Agriculture, Infrastructure and ICT. It is a new reliance on business as cash rich countries such as China and the Middle East look for new markets in which to invest, that will fuel this growth. Even the Investment funds in the UK, Europe and the US are beginning to take serious notice of Africa as an investment destination, practically the agriculture sector.
Tuesday, 5 February 2008
Africa as an Investment Destination
In the past six months we have fortunately seen an unprecedented interest in Africa as an investment destination. Interest in African commodities was always there and the surge in commodity prices has helped companies to take notice of other areas as well.
For the first time, banks, financial institutions and private equity firms have started looking to invest in African services and markets.
This was in part helped by the fact that countries like Sierra Leone, Congo and Rwanda have successfully moved ahead from their war torn past to promote good governance and economic liberalisation.
Interest in Africa was palpable in Kampala when we organised the Commonwealth Business Forum in November 2007. Leading multinational and private equity firms including Blackstone, CDC, Barclays showed interest in investing in the Continent.
However, unfortunately because of the Kenya crisis, the goodwill is wearing away. This unrest will affect the whole of East Africa. It will be difficult to sustain investors’ confidence under such circumstances. Kenyan and other African leaders must find a speedy solution to the crises.
For the first time, banks, financial institutions and private equity firms have started looking to invest in African services and markets.
This was in part helped by the fact that countries like Sierra Leone, Congo and Rwanda have successfully moved ahead from their war torn past to promote good governance and economic liberalisation.
Interest in Africa was palpable in Kampala when we organised the Commonwealth Business Forum in November 2007. Leading multinational and private equity firms including Blackstone, CDC, Barclays showed interest in investing in the Continent.
However, unfortunately because of the Kenya crisis, the goodwill is wearing away. This unrest will affect the whole of East Africa. It will be difficult to sustain investors’ confidence under such circumstances. Kenyan and other African leaders must find a speedy solution to the crises.
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