For e-mobility company BasiGo, Rwanda is an ideal place for its investment. The firm has a commitment to delivering 200 electric buses to Rwanda by 2025, with an outlay of $40 million, company executives say.
The development is towards having cleaner and greener streets in the country as the company intends to contribute to the creation of a sustainable, and inclusive public transport ecosystem in Rwanda, the firm indicated.
On July 27, 2023, Rwanda Development Board (RDB) announced the move by BasiGo to make Rwanda its second entry into the African market, after Kenya, with a pilot of four e-buses operating in the country.
"Following the success of its pilot, BasiGo will invest $20 million to deploy an initial 100 electric buses in Rwanda, and another $20 million subsequent to that for another 100 e-buses,” BasiGo Rwanda Managing Director, Doreen Orishaba, told The New Times.
BasiGo’s project is one of the investments that Rwanda attracted in 2023, according to a 2023 annual report by Rwanda Development Board (RDB).
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The report, which was published on April 24, showed that Rwanda registered 513 projects worth $2.47 billion (approximately Rwf3.1 trillion) in investments in 2023, which represent a 50 per cent increase compared to $1.6 billion recorded in 2022.
Such investments are, among other outcomes, expected to create more than 40,000 jobs in the next five years, RDB indicated.
"Rwanda is ideal for BasiGo‘s e-mobility investment because our business targets align with the country’s clear commitment to sustainability and reducing climate emissions,” Orishaba noted.
The Government of Rwanda, she pointed out, made a Nationally Determined Contribution commitment[under Paris Agreement to address negative effects of climate change] to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 38 per cent by 2030.
In 2021, it enacted what Orishaba described as one of the most favourable e-mobility policies in sub-Saharan Africa.
"Under this policy, our electric buses can receive benefits including duty and tax exemption, large industrial electricity tariff for e-mobility charging and potential access to public land for the setup of charging infrastructure. This is providing a great environment for the introduction and scale of our e-buses,” observed said.
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Orishaba argued that BasiGo’s investment in Rwanda will contribute to improved balance of trade and reducing the nation’s reliance on high-cost of diesel imports, indicating that "200 electric buses will replace 42 million litres of imported diesel with 170 gigawatt per hour of off-peak, domestically generated electricity.”
Investment growth metrics
According to RDB, the real estate sector, manufacturing, and arts entertainment, and recreation attracted the most investments with each bringing in $350 million, $300 million, $270 million, respectively.
Accommodation and food service activities brought in more than $223.6 million to the country, while construction, agriculture, forestry and fishing, agro-processing attracted investments worth $208.6 million, $206 million, and $137 million, respectively.
On the other hand, investors committed to invest $128.4 million in financial and insurance activities, and $103.8 million in electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply services.
RDB attributes the growth to initiatives such as the the Manufacture and Build to Recover Program (MBRP) which provides special incentives for companies investing in the manufacturing, agro-processing and construction (real estate).
The sectors that the programme targets are some of the sectors that attracted the most investments last year.
MBRP was approved by the government in 2021 with the aim to reduce the cost of establishing industries,support existing firms looking to expand, and encourage investments in the targeted areas to contribute to the country’s effort to recover from the Covid-19 impact.
As of December 31, 2023, 136 projects worth more than $2.3 billion in investments had been approved for MBRP incentives, the report indicated. However, RDB CEO Francis Gatare has told The New Times that the programme is phasing out.
India, UAE lead
India and United Arab Emirates (UAE) topped the list of destinations from where investors investing in Rwanda originate, thanks to key promotional activities such as the Dubai Expo 2020.
"It [Dubai Expo 2020] was an excellent platform to attract potential investors,” RDB said in a statement, adding that the Rwanda-Dubai trade mission organised on December 4, 2023, and the Rwanda-Dubai business forum that took place in 2022 contributed to enticing investors from Dubai.
At the same time, India-Rwanda business forum that took place in 2023, the investment roadshow organised in India in June 2023, and MBRP programme campaign organised in the country are other factors that attracted more Indian investors into Rwanda.
RDB attributes air connections by RwandAir to India and UAE as other contributing factors, saying it made it easier to conduct business with the two countries.