President Paul Kagame Friday morning hosted members of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) at Urugwiro Village in Kigali. YPO is an international network of over 24,000 chief executives and business leaders from over 130 countries who come together to create educational resources, alliances with leading institutions as well as networks to support their businesses and communities. The visiting delegation comprised 17 YPO members from UAE, Australia, Israel, Scotland, China, USA and Rwanda. They have been in the country for a week to understand business practices as well as establish connections with local entrepreneurs and policy makers. A section of the delegation has in previous years made considerable investments in the country in a number of sectors, including healthcare, technology, education, among others. During their meeting with the Head of State, the delegation presented him with an impact report of their investments in the country. Yariv Cohen, a member of the delegation and the chairman of Kaenaat, an impact investment firm, pointed out that this is the 8th visit to Rwanda by YPO members. “We come here to identify business opportunities and learn from the country’s experiences,” he said of the group’s visit to the country. “We submitted an impact report on the activities that YPO have conducted, such as a drip irrigation project, Skol Brewery, one of the biggest investments with about 20 per cent market share, Kigali Water targeting to connect over a million people, Ignite Power providing off-grid power to over quarter of a million people in the country, among others,” he said. Cohen added that the group also has had initiatives and interventions in the health and education sector and in promoting entrepreneurial development. Speaking to the media following the group’s meeting with the President, Francis Gatare, the chief executive of the Rwanda Development Board, pointed out some of the YPO-led investments have been in key sectors including solar energy, ICT and agriculture. Gatare added that YPO members who were visiting Rwanda for the first time had also expressed interest in investing in the country and had interacted with the local businesses. President Kagame has previously featured in a number of YPO gatherings in several cities across the world. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
