The UK’s finance minister Chancellor Rachel Reeves recently published her budget and there are three things you need to know about how the UK is improving its offer for international business and investment. Firstly, growth remains the UK Government’s number one mission. Since coming to office, the government has increased capital investment by over £120 billion, in infrastructure, innovation, and green energy, creating the conditions for key industries to thrive. This budget confirmed public investment at its highest sustained level in four decades, meaning investors can have confidence in the UK economy for the long term. And it sets out the next steps in strengthening the UK’s infrastructure to boost growth and productivity - including the location of the UK’s first small modular nuclear reactors; funding for a new crossing across the River Thames; and new AI Growth Zones spanning across the country. It builds on previous commitments - such as Heathrow Airport expansion, the Sizewell C nuclear power station, and improvements to transport infrastructure - as well as planning and regulatory reforms to remove barriers to investment and trade agreements with major partners. These are long-term plans to build a stronger, more secure economy. Second, we will not borrow beyond our means. An unfunded borrowing spree is bad for stability, bad for business, and bad for investment. By cutting borrowing by more than any other G7 country to the end of this decade, the UK’s Chancellor is placing the country on track to have the largest budget surplus in 20 years – strengthening our ability to make the most of growth opportunities now and in the future. At the same time, the budget directly delivers a 0.4% reduction in inflation in 2026/27 to move the UK into line with global peers through 2026 and closer to the Bank of England target rate of 2%. This will help the Bank to continue to cut interest rates and stimulate investment. As a result of this budget, the UK’s independent fiscal watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, has upgraded its growth forecast by 0.5% since March. Meanwhile the IMF says it expects UK growth to be the second fastest in the G7 this year, and the fastest among European G7 economies. This means more opportunities for services, manufacturing, life sciences and industry – more opportunities for investment and returns. Finally, this budget has made the UK an even more attractive place to invest - with a major package of measures to help businesses start up, scale up, and stay in the UK. We already have the lowest Corporation Tax rate in the G7 and the most generous tax reliefs for plant and machinery in the OECD. The budget confirmed our commitment to both of these. And last week we doubled investment limits for our internationally competitive Venture Capital Trust and Enterprise Investment Schemes, helping innovative companies raise equity as they scale. We doubled eligibility for the Enterprise Management Incentive, giving employees of fast-growing companies access to share options with tax relief, so more have a stake in our tech industry’s future. And we’re changing procurement rules, so more firms – big and small – can benefit from government contracts. For the first time, UK-listed companies will have a three-year stamp duty holiday, as well as benefitting from incentives for savers to invest in the stock market. These measures will grow the pool of capital available for listed companies and pave the way for the next generation of entrepreneurs and tech unicorns. In short, this was a budget for entrepreneurs. The commitment to stability, investment and reform is already yielding results. Growth has been upgraded, inflation is set to fall, and we will cut borrowing faster than any other G7 country. In an uncertain world, we are securing the public finances, and we are choosing to invest in Britain’s future. And we’re making Britain the best place for business to start, grow, invest and stay. The UK is already an attractive place for Rwandan investment. We are also seeing increased UK investment in Rwanda, with the newly formed British Chamber of Commerce in Rwanda growing in membership. These investments are often in export focused industries, of both products such as fresh vegetables (the UK is the largest buyer of export horticulture products from Rwanda) and services such as tourism. For the year to end of June 2025, we saw exports to the UK grow by 47%. Rwandan tea and coffee and now readily available on UK supermarket shelves – a sign that UK consumers enjoy a “taste of Rwanda”. So, I urge businesses in Rwanda and the region, who are looking to expand and invest internationally, to strongly consider the UK as a business destination. We have a lot to offer. The author is the British High Commissioner to Rwanda
