A group of European businesses operating in Rwanda has come together to officially unveil the ‘European Business Chamber of Rwanda’, which they say will, among other things, promote business exchanges and policy conversations.

The organisation was launched on Monday with 14 inaugural members.

Giovanni Davite, one of the foreign businessmen who have been pushing for the creation of the chamber, told The New Times that it all started with a few German business people who wanted to come together to "build synergies and promote business here.”

"But they were few so they were not qualified to form an association,” said Davite, who’s also the owner of Kipharma and Agrotech, which import and distribute pharmaceutical and agricultural products into Rwanda, respectively.

Nicola Bellomo, European Union Ambassador to Rwanda (left), and Giovanni Davite, an Italian businessman based in Rwanda, during the launch of the European Business Chamber of Rwanda. / Photo: Courtesy

Kipharma is one of the many European businesses that operate in Rwanda. Skol, Heineken, Brussels Airlines, and Volkswagen are some of the biggest European businesses operating in Rwanda.

Co-founders of the organisation suggest they have around 300 businesses including consultancy firms from Europe, operating in the country.

The European Business Chamber of Rwanda pronounces itself as an organisation that promotes business intelligence, networking and advocacy.

"Sometimes there could be partnerships that could be made with people who want to invest here from Europe,” Davite, an Italian native, said.

According to their action plan for the next year, they plan to hold advocacy, policy and networking and Information meetings.

Such gatherings, they say, would discuss everything from taxes to import and export rules and regulations, as well as labour, among others.

Nicola Bellomo, the European Union Ambassador to Rwanda who officiated at the launch of the chamber endorsed the association saying it will influence decisions like the recent conversations on the regulation of food and drug industry, which was contested by some foreign businesses.

"This will also facilitate promotion of European interests in Rwanda,” the diplomat said, reiterating the support of the European Union.

Business people like Viktors Semjonovs, the chief executive officer at Strawtec Building Solutions, see the chamber as an opportunity for them to have a strong voice when it comes to important issues.

"Generally it is important to have many voices under one group to raise different questions to authorities that we cannot reach alone,” he noted.

"All of us as big businesses are quite busy in our business that we cannot have a chance to chat informally about challenges that we have,” Semjonovs added.