The preparations to host the Commonwealth Business Forum (CBF) in Rwanda, are in high gear, according to officials. Slated to take place between June 21 and 23, CBF is one of the flagship events of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which will be hosted in Rwanda in June 2022. Over 1,000 delegates are expected to court in the city for the forum whose experience has been designed to provide different ways to create meaningful connections, exchange knowledge as well as business information. The forum organized through a partnership between Rwanda and the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council will be hosted at the Kigali Exhibition Conference and Exhibition Village (KECV), commonly known as Camp Kigali, which is one of the designated venues for CHOGM. For Rwanda, hosting the forum fourteen years since it was last hosted in Africa, the country sees it as a great platform to strengthen trade and investment with the rest of the Commonwealth members. Here are five things you should know ahead of the high level forum: 1. The commonwealth advantage According to the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Commonwealth Advantage, with its shared values, regulatory systems and language, has the potential to increase intra-Commonwealth trade by 20 percent. It can also reduce the cost of doing business between member countries by up to 19 percent. Revised estimates indicate that bilateral trade costs between Commonwealth country pairs are 21 percent lower, on average, compared with non-Commonwealth countries. This, as Philip Lucky, head of investment promotion and export marketing at the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), said earlier, is a platform for the country to connect more with member states. The Commonwealth is a key trading partner for Rwanda. However, Lucky said it is time for the country to amplify her efforts to be able to trade with member states. “There is also an aspect of investment. We want to provide an opportunity where people can learn about Rwanda beyond its tragic history,” he said. “For them to see our business environment, and for us to be able to sustain what we have is to have business investors,” he added. Lucky is also confident in the partnership with Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council, which Rwanda has used to rally more representatives from multinational corporations, business executives, chambers of commerce as well as financing institutions to attend the forum. “One of the things that we really want to see is walking the talk. Not just presentations and leaving things on paper. We really want to see people engaged. To bolster trade, we start with how we ease movement between member states, the other thing is having concrete deals that can be signed during the business forum,” he added. 2. Private sector ready The Rwandan private sector is very ready starting with receiving visitors and accommodating them, transporting them, as well as network with guests according to Robert Bafakulera, Chairman of the Private Sector Federation. He believes the business to business interactions will yield significantly for their members, and that they are ready to seize the opportunities. For the main CHOGM meeting, Bafakulera said that it will come with several opportunities; “We can see a big market in our guests. 5,000 is a big number. It allows us to showcase our products to the wider market,” he said. CHOGM is expected to attract over 5,000 people including heads of state and business leaders among others. Kevine Kagirimpundu, established entrepreneur echoed similar sentiments. “Before such meetings, Rwandans used to travel to showcase what theyre doing. Therefore receiving all these participants, from across the globe, is an opportunity for Rwandans to market their products and services at home.” 3. EAC business leaders eye opportunities More than 300 regional business leaders are set to attend the CBF, as confirmed by John Bosco Kalisa, CEO of the East African Business Council (EABC) during an earlier interview with The New Times. Kalisa said: “The (business) forum provides enormous opportunities to forge strategic partnership and conclude business and investment deals.” “CHOGM brings together more than 50 member states from both developed and emerging countries and provides a solid platform to engage and conclude trade and investment deals. It also provides an opportunity to discuss a number of binding constraints that hinder trade flows and regional integration, he said. 4. What is on the agenda? This CBF opening session will consist of keynote remarks aligned with the main CHOGM theme, with speakers expected to be heads of state, officials from Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council as well RDB leadership. The theme for this year’s CHOGM is ‘Delivering a Common Future: Connecting, Innovating, Transforming’. The remarks will unpack the theme and set the tone for discussions that will be held during the Forum. Delegates will be challenged to contribute to shaping agendas, share insights, exchange knowledge, connect and collaborate with a view to delivering practical and feasible strategies and frameworks that will accelerate post-pandemic growth in the Commonwealth. Other main topics include, leveraging the commonwealth for a global recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, challenging protectionism and reducing barriers to business, innovation in the commonwealth among others. Also to be held is the launch of Coventry University, a globally renowned higher learning institution that recently launched its Africa Hub in Rwanda. 5. Who is attending? The three-day forum is expected to attract heads of state and government ministers, senior government officials and eminent leaders of global and regional development institutions. Others are captains of industry and board-level business leaders, innovators across all sectors, venture capitalists and angel investors as well as Champions of Youth Entrepreneurship.
