The collaborations of local entrepreneurs with regional businesses are key in closing business barriers and bringing about sustainable economic integration, President Paul Kagame has said.

Kagame made the remarks, on Saturday, while officiating at Rwanda’s Private Sector Federation (PSF) fourth Golden Circle gala dinner in Kigali.

"We look forward to business leaders increasingly taking the lead in pushing for improvements to the business climate,” Kagame said, adding that PSF has been good partners and ambassadors in pushing for conducive business agenda in the East African region.

"Collaboration and partnerships between businesses is equally crucial because our economies are increasingly interconnected,” Kagame added.

The President said that it is healthy for businesses to ensure that the local business context goes far beyond the national borders.

"Local partnerships should go even beyond the region and embrace the continent. And that should happen if we continue to integrate.

"Countries in East Africa through the Northern Corridor and soon in the Central Corridor are working to bring down the barriers of business,” said Kagame.

Kagame noted that the private sector was important in partnering with government to push for interests and objectives, which are aligned to bring about prosperity.

Golden Circle gala dinner was held under theme: "A Rwanda of opportunities, becoming an engine of development.”

The Golden Circle is an elite club made up of over 150 businesses, which includes local and multinational companies. It covers significant investments in all of the sectors of the economy of Rwanda ranging from hospitality, financial services, property development and mining to tourism, agribusiness and manufacturing.

According to PSF Chairperson, Benjamin Gasamagera, the Golden Circle holds about 70 per cent of Rwanda’s gross national product. The club accounts for a significant share of Rwanda’s export volumes and values and have created a good number of jobs in the goods and services sector in Rwanda.

"The primary function of the Golden Circle has therefore been to drive private sector investment in each of those sectors in contribution to the Governments goals of transformation and development,” said Gasamagera.

Gasamagera also said that the Golden Circle personifies self-reliance by adding value to Rwanda’s natural resources and driving innovation in the services sector.

"We the private sector are inspired by the government’s vision of transformation of this country and we will therefore continue to contribute to the nation’s growth and development agenda,” he said.

The PSF chairman noted that the supportive business environment in Rwanda is consistently affirmed by reputable independent organizations, of which this has enabled Rwanda to rank amongst the top global reformers.

"This enabling environment underpins the high levels of confidence this elite club and other investors places in the Government of Rwanda in particular and the economy in general,” said Gasamagera, also pledging that PSF would continue to support private sector growth, by tackling challenges like energy and infrastructure.

Gasamagera applauded Kagame’s leadership for committing to push for regional integration, noting that it is ‘highly valued and appreciated”.

"The formation of the Private Sector Cluster within the Northern Corridor Integration Initiative (NCIP), the launch of the single tourism visa, the implementation of the one-area telecommunication network, have benefited all our members and promise to raise the potential for growth and development in Rwanda,” Gasamagera reiterated.

He said that the Golden Circle Club are well informed on the opportunities available under the NCIP and are actively engaged to take advantage of the opportunities.

The Golden Circle gala was attended by a number of government officials, regional and multinational entrepreneurs.

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