As Rwanda continues to position itself as a leading financial services centre, being able to attract the right companies and more importantly, talent and knowledge, to the country is a key ingredient for the success of this industry. The recent introduction of new fiscal and corporate legislation will continue to attract foreign direct investment to the country. The business friendly eco-system, and the ‘open for business’ attitude of the country will also attract individuals to relocate to Rwanda, and also result in a transfer of knowledge with the local population, which will then lead to a long term and self-sustained success. Attracting start ups and their founders to Rwanda will also lead to employment opportunities, in different industries. Rwanda can position itself as a start-up hub in Africa, and encourage growth of early-stage businesses by attracting talent from around the world. This could give the country a first mover advantage in Africa, in this space. There are various measures governments can introduce to foster the right environment for entrepreneurship. It is important to understand that entrepreneurs are highly mobile, quickly moving to jurisdictions they believe offer the best mix of investment-friendly, attractive fiscal regimes and supportive legal environments. In view of this, countries need to not only compete to ensure they keep attracting foreign talent, but to also ensure they are fostering the right ecosystem for these start-ups to thrive. A start-up is typically defined as a young company which is founded by one or more entrepreneurs to develop a unique product or service to bring to the market. Over the past decade, the global appetite for start ups has grown exponentially. Technological innovation has brought about profound changes to organisations and entire industries. The so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution has ushered in various opportunities in a number of fields such as artificial intelligence, internet of things and smart manufacturing. Also important is the rise of medtech and fintech which many a times start out from academic research. The rise of technology companies, creative products and novel service offerings have made governments and individuals appreciate the role of entrepreneurial innovators. While countries have long-standing migration channels for business purposes, they are often not best suited for individuals looking at establishing a start up business. Entrepreneurial or investor visas are often unattainable for start-up founders having early-stage, high-risk, innovative business projects, due to their stringent requirements and their emphasis on immediate economic returns, such as job creation, which can discourage risk taking. The introduction of start up visas has grown rapidly in recent years. Countries commonly associated with a tradition of settlement such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand have all introduced start up visas. A number of European countries and emerging economies in Asia and South America have also launched start up visas. The demand for such visas has led to a wide-range of countries to offer such initiatives and following Covid, with the rise of remote working and the already established digital nomads, the list is expected to continue growing. Each country has its own set of criteria and requirements for the attainment of a start up visa, which means that individuals need to carefully evaluate their personal situation to choose the country which best fits their business and personal needs. Some countries who have been offering start up visas for a substantial amount of years are now looking at enhancing their programmes and making them more competitive by introducing measures which may lead an individual in possession of such a visa to apply for permanent residence. The writers are partner and Senior Consultant at Seed Consultancy Malta, EU
