Rwanda president emphasises conducive business environment for investors

Rwanda president Paul Kagame has called on his leadership to do whatever it takes to provide favorable business environment for both local and foreign investors.

The head of state was speaking on Monday while inaugurated Kigali City Hall and a nearby commercial complex, M Peace Plaza in busy shopping hub in downtown Capital, Kigali.

Both buildings are expected to host a number of businesses.

Addressing a wide range of members of Rwanda business community, the president emphasized on conducive business atmosphere saying that it attracts investments.

"Achieving transformation is to change your mindset and believe that transformation is possible. The progress Rwanda has registered within a short period of time is not the result of an overnight miracle but consistent hard work," he noted.

Kagame said that even with the development achieved so far, there was still more to be done and challenged the businesses to exploit the opportunities available to them.

"The government is committed to improving the lives of its people through providing a conducive environment for investments to grow, creating employment opportunities and generating income for the people," he noted.

The president also called on the government to partner with the private sector saying that both parties must demand more from themselves and implored them to attract more investors to Rwanda.

Rwanda has gone ahead to enhance investments by introducing a new investment law that clarifies potential investment opportunities in the country as well as the key areas the government is marketing to investors.

The investment law, launched in Kigali in June to replace one enacted in 2005 that was limited in scope, seeks to bring 1.12 billion U.S dollars worth of foreign direct investments (FDIs) by the end of the year.

Figures from Rwanda Development Board (RDB) put the country's actual FDIs at 257 million U.S dollars in 2013 and 521 million U.S dollars in 2014.

The post genocide country has demonstrated consistent strong performance in the World Bank Doing Business Rankings in recent years with good progress made across all the key indicators.

The 2015 World Bank Doing Business Report, ranked Rwanda 46th out of 189 countries globally that are promoting conducive environment for business.

An Ernst & Young's report titled, "Africa 2014: executing growth" South Africa, Egypt and Morocco, respectively, topped the list of 15 countries on the continent that have enjoyed a dominant share of FDI between 2007 and 2013.

Rwanda made it to that list in 15th place behind its East African counterparts Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda which were ranked 6th, 10th and 11th, respectively. Endite