I am delighted to be in Malta this week where I presented my letters of commission to President George Vella. While in Valletta I met with Trade Malta to further deepen the trade ties between our two countries. Rwanda lost all in 1994 but refused to be a hostage to history and started a gruelling development journey from minus zero in every metric. Our private sectors are already connected, and partnerships are flourishing. In October of 2020, Salvo Grima Group, a Maltese business, successfully launched a distribution system for consumer goods in Rwanda. Today, they have a network of 14 depots across Rwanda and employ nearly 80 staff with more growth expected in 2023. Salvo Grima are one of many international businesses that have chosen to set up in Rwanda, allow me to explain why, and how to join them. Quite simply, Rwanda is pro-business. We are proud to have built a friendly, supportive, and accessible business environment. In fact, in the World Bank’s Doing Business report, Rwanda consistently came in at number two in Africa for ease of doing business. Investors receive preferential tax rates and incentives in strategic sectors, such as ICT, financial services, energy, transport, housing and more. RDB, the Rwanda Development Board provides a one-stop centre to support and make life easy for investors. Through RDB business registration takes under six hours to complete. Rwanda is also a regulatory sandbox, which enables innovative companies to test and scale their products, using Rwanda as a “proof of concept” hub. One example is Babyl, a British company who use chatbot AI technology to enable virtual medical consultations. Another is Zipline, a Silicon Valley start-up, who set up the world’s first drone port in Rwanda. The drones rapidly deliver medical supplies and blood to remote areas that would typically take several hours to reach. The drones save lives, and soon will be used to make domestic deliveries too. Zipline have already scaled and expanded into other African countries. Rwanda is a member of regional trading blocs such as COMESA and the East Africa Community. The world’s largest new free trade area, the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is now operational. The AfCFTA will see African markets connected on ideal terms by exporting and importing duty free across Africa. The first consignment of goods under the scheme, made up of packaged coffee was shipped from Rwanda to Ghana in September last year. Rwanda is first in the East African Community for network readiness, and we now have 95 per cent 4G network coverage, plus a nationwide fibre-optic internet roll-out that has seen over 7,000km of fibre cabling laid out throughout the country. Kigali International Airport is becoming a regional aviation hub, particularly as our national carrier RwandAir continues to expand its routes, now featuring direct flights to London and from June, Paris. Kigali International Financial Centre (KIFC) is transforming Rwanda into the preferred financial destination for investors seeking opportunities in Rwanda or for wider investment into Africa. Fintech is a priority for KIFC, evidenced by the legal and regulatory framework put in place by the National Bank of Rwanda in 2017. This ecosystem has enabled several unicorns to choose Kigali as a base for their regional operations, such as cross-border payments firm Chipper, valued at $2.2 billion. Chipper is an example of a fintech company growing exponentially because of new innovations created for the many Africans underserved by traditional financial methods. The future is bright. Vision 2050, our national transformation strategy lays out the plan for Rwanda to become an upper-middle income country by 2035. In Rwanda we have zero tolerance for corruption, you will find efficient and transparent systems, such as our digitised e-service platform, Irembo. Just last month Rwanda was included in BBC Travel’s top five destinations for solo women travellers. This is thanks to Rwanda’s very low crime rates. Safety is taken for granted and anyone can happily wander alone at any hour 24/7. Kigali city is also one of the cleanest in Africa. Rwanda has the highest percentage of women globally in parliament at 61.3 per cent, and we champion women’s empowerment and inclusion throughout society. As Rwandans, we have worked to rebuild our country and create a nation which we are very proud of, that provides decent, dignified livelihoods to its citizens and a world of opportunity for investors, foreign or Rwandan. If you have been waiting for a reason to join our development journey, end the waiting with this! Johnston Busingye is Rwandan High Commissioner to the UK and Malta. This article was first published in the Times of Malta.
