The American businessman and founding Chief Executive of Rwanda Development Board (RDB), Joseph (Joe) Ritchie died on February 22, The New Times has learnt.

He was 75.

The founder of Chicago Research and Trading (CRT), an options and futures trading firm is survived by his wife and children.

Ritchie had long ties with Rwanda since 2003 after meeting President Paul Kagame, and from there, he was involved in multiple ways of developing the economy of the country by mostly attracting foreign investors to Rwanda.

In 2008, he was appointed as the Chairman and CEO of RDB, an institution that has been tasked with spearheading Rwanda’s development and tackling the most urgent problems and opportunities affecting the country’s economic growth.

Ritchie also went on to invest in private enterprise in Rwanda, for instance, he invested in Akagera Medicines, one of the country's significant biotech companies that is focused on infectious diseases, especially Tuberculosis.

Ritchie also served as the co-chair of the Presidential Advisory Council (PAC) since it was created in 2007.

PAC is a group of global experts in different fields and from different nationalities who offer strategic advice to President Kagame and the Government of Rwanda.

In 2017, Ritchie was awarded the National Order of Outstanding Friendship (Igihango) by President Paul Kagame where he was described as an ‘evangelist of prosperity’ for his role in bringing multiple business people into the country to facilitate economic transformation.

His death comes second in a row of the loss of Rwanda’s friends, after Dr. Paul Farmer passed away the day before on February 21, triggering grief globally, particularly, in Rwanda where he had impactful initiatives in primary healthcare.