A new public education and awareness program has been launched to encourage Rwandan communities living abroad to explore the saving and investment opportunities available in their home country. The program is a joint effort between the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning through the Capital Market Authority (CMA) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its primary goal is to encourage more Rwandan investors to participate in various capital market products, thereby contributing to the growth of the country's economy. ALSO READ: What does it take to increase Rwandans involvement in capital markets? The CMA reports that so far, Rwandans living in 30 diplomatic missions from across Africa, Europe, America, Asia, and the Pacific are being reached out progressively through the campaign. Magnifique Migisha, the Coordinator of the program at Rwanda's CMA, believes that the capital market presents the best investment opportunity for Rwandan communities living abroad to secure their financial future. “When you buy a share of stock, you are actually buying ownership into a living company. Over time, these companies will release more products, gain more customers, increase earnings, acquire other companies, and grow,” he explained. Migisha urged the Rwandan diaspora to take advantage of the Rwandan capital markets and embrace a savings and investment culture to contribute to the growing economy of the country. He emphasized that CMA is committed to creating an interactive and educative forum to bridge the financial literacy gap and encourage long-term investments. ALSO READ: Rwanda’s Capital Market: How investors are protected As part of the program, virtual sessions are being conducted under the theme Promoting a Savings and Investment Culture within the Rwandan Community Living Abroad through the Rwandan Capital Market. Facilitators of the sessions include the Rwanda Stock Exchange, Rwanda National Investment Trust, BK Capital, and several stock brokerage firms. Sandrine Maziyateke Uwimbabazi, Director of Rwanda Community Abroad (RCA) at MINAFFET, highlighted the department's role in encouraging Rwandans living abroad to contribute to program implementation. She noted that RCA liaises with embassies, High Commissions, and representatives of RCA associations to facilitate this. “The Government of Rwanda realised the important role that the Rwandan Community Abroad (RCA) can play in the development of the country. Besides the well-known role of remittances, they can act as a catalyst in bringing innovation, creating businesses, trade, and investment as well as skills and knowledge transfer which can be an added value to the national economy,” said Uwimbabazi. ALSO READ: Remittances: The glue that binds Rwandan Diaspora and their roots She emphasized that it is essential for the Ministry to develop and implement sustainable strategic programs and mechanisms to support RCA who are eager to contribute to their homeland's social and economic transformation. While economic contributions are often prioritized, she continued, there is also an increasing awareness of the non-economic benefits of such contributions, such as enhancing the country's reputation, promoting good governance, sharing knowledge, and building capacity. With the continued development of the capital market industry, CMA reports that some Rwandan companies have started enjoying the benefit of considering the Rwandan capital market as a venue to raise long-term funding for their businesses. Eric Sangwa who resides in New Zealand and participated in this campaign, said, “We are so glad to learn a lot about Rwanda’s capital market through this campaign. Investing in the Rwandan market helps to maintain connections and ties to our mother country.” He emphasized that diaspora communities can utilize this approach to not only support economic development in their native countries, but also to potentially generate financial returns on their investments.
