Perhaps the infamous 1994 massacre remains a dark spot to many Rwandese but the country’s economy appears to be gathering steam and it’s ready for take-off. Of late, investors have been flocking the East African nation just to get a slice of the national cake, something the government has been giving them, handsomely.
With a wide range of incentives to choose from, Paul Kagame’s government has been enticing investors to capitalise on the inducements and in the process create jobs to many unemployed youth. “We have a wide range of investment opportunities and the government has been wooing investors to our country to help improve the livelihoods of Rwandan people,” notes Paul Ruhamya, Rwanda’s international trade development officer.
“The government has created a very fertile and conducive environment for our investors by ensuring seamless registration of businesses in the country. It will take you six hours to register a business in Rwanda!” The seamless registration of businesses is one of the major investor magnets to Rwanda. Investors are concerned about the ease to do business, something which Rwanda has embraced.
Once one has his business registered, the bulk does not stop there. The investor will be allowed by the customs department to import machinery and other production paraphernalia duty-free. “An investor is allowed to import equipment and machinery free to the country after registration of business,” notes Mr Ruhamya.
Some of the products that the investors are allowed to import duty free include machinery, raw materials, medical equipment and agricultural materials. An expatriate employee working for a registered company is also exempted from duties when importing personal stuff like a personal car and household equipment.
When the investor sets up his production plant, the government goes ahead and assigns a key account manager. The manager monitors the progress of the business and facilitates issues like installation of electricity to the plant and facilitation of other government logistics required for smooth running of the business. “The key account manager acts as a link between the government and the investor and facilitates all investor activities in the country.”
With the country still importing electricity from Uganda, the government has invested heavily in the energy sector to start producing its own electricity. This will lower the energy costs in the country and in turn act as a bait to woo more investors. Rwandese government has also set a large piece of land for investors to lease at relatively affordable prices.
The Special Economic Zone has two phases; the first phase targeting small-scale investors while the other one focuses on large-scale investors. People wishing to set up a bank in Rwanda are only required to submit an initial licence fee of five million Rwandese Francs (about USD 8 million) and a supervision fee of 0.5% of gross income generated in previous financial year.
“An investor in Kigali is entitled to investment allowance of 40% of the invested amount in new or used assets. Those investing outside Kigali are entitled to 50% investment allowance on the invested amount in new or used assets,” adds Mr Ruhamya.
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