Earlier this week, a minister in a neighbouring country proposed to Helen Hai, the Chinese ‘tigress’ of manufacturing in Rwanda; the Minister gave Hai a blank cheque to set-up an industrial base in the country, to promote exports.

The proposal which was seconded by the country’s Prime Minister was not surprising especially to those who have heard the passion with which Hai speaks about manufacturing, citing her own successful ventures in Ethiopia and Rwanda as examples.

Helen Hai is the founder of C&H, a Chinese garments company; she is also the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Goodwill Ambassador.

Two years ago, Hai opened shop in the Kigali Special Economic Zone and pledged to invest US$10million over the next five years (from then) with an initial prospect of creating 200 job opportunities for young Rwandans.

On Wednesday, I met Saidi, a Rwandan manager at C&H; he was in the company of a Chinese lady, a principal in Hai’s corporation; C&H will be among dozens of firms that are set to participate in the Made in Rwanda exhibition that starts on Wednesday.

From 200 employees two years ago, Saidi told me, the company now employs over 900; their hands are behind C&H’s successful manufacturing for export business, a true Made in Rwanda story. 

So another country wants a piece of Helen Hai. Not a bad thing. But it is also not a good thing. As an individual, Hai has without a doubt added dozens of pages to Africa’s manufacturing story. 

But it will take more than one Helen Hai to create the kind of industrial base that Africa needs to not only create jobs for its young population but also balance the continent’s international trade receipts that are currently dominated by heavy import bills.

The Made in Rwanda effort is part of a larger story of Made in Africa products. The sad thing though, is the tendency by players in this space, to have their eyes glued on Europeans as a primary target market as opposed to capturing the local market first.

Take Akabanga as an example. Its massive popularity among locals has progressively sold it to foreigners visiting Rwanda for the first time; many foreigners that I have shared a dining table with, always try it out on inspiration from their local hosts. 

As we go into this Made in Rwanda exhibition, players in this space should be reminded to create with the local market as their primary target; Europeans and other markets should be secondary targets.

In the first quarter of 2016; Rwanda’s total trade was US$ 589.75 million; exports accounted for US$ 91.79 million, imports commanded US$ 456.93 million while re-exports were valued at US$ 41.03 million. This hierarchy never changes much in subsequent quarters of the year.

What Made in Rwanda strategists need to do is track the things on which Rwandans are spending US$456 million every quarter and find ways of having them made locally for home consumption. 

There is an old man on the third floor of Makuza Peace Plaza; he has a shop that sells high quality suits from Turkey and Italy and he’s been in business for over two decades. Fine quality suits. The least priced suit in his shop costs US$250, equivalent to around Rwf200,000. 

Any strategy to substitute imports with local manufacturing should focus on people like the old man at Makuza building; get our embassy in Turkey to find out who makes these suits, how can we get them to Rwanda?

From suits, let’s do the same for automobiles. A friend recently shipped in a 2007 model Audi that cost him US$40,000 dollars; we can learn from the Ethiopians, they have reduced car imports by setting up assembly plants at home making all forms of cars from personal to public transport vehicles.

Attraction is easy; there are two brands whose potential is currently being under-utilized; the brands Paul Kagame, and Rwanda; these are names that command immediate attention, not out of shock but genuine interest. Let us use them to attract targeted investors; those who are willing to shift part of their industrial bases from Turkey, Italy, China or South Korea, to Rwanda in the process getting closer to the African market as a whole. 

The Made in Rwanda expo shall last only a week. But it should be a way of life. Kigali shopping malls should be daily exhibition platforms for Made in Rwanda products. 

Everything we buy abroad can be assembled here, for the home and regional market. The Ministry of Commerce should also come up with incentives that encourage major supermarkets to have ‘Made in Rwanda’ sections.