The Senate on October 24 approved the appointment of Ulrich Kayinamura as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Rwanda's sovereign wealth fund, Agaciro Development Fund, following his nomination by the Cabinet meeting of October 18.
Kayinamura, 41, replaces Jerry Ntare, who served in acting capacity. He takes over the sovereign wealth fund, which had more than Rwf320 billion asset under management as of May 2024.
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The Senate Committee on Economic Development and Finance assessed his experience and academic qualification, as well as his plans in line with fulfilling his responsibilities.
Kayinamura was born in 1983. He holds a master’s degree in in business administration obtained from the University of Groningen in Netherlands in 2009.
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In 2004, he obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from then National University of Rwanda.
He also received training in leadership under the Senior Executive Program at Harvard Business School, between May and Aug 2024.
Experience
Upon his appointment to the top Agaciro Development Fund position, Kayinamura was the Head of Investment Banking and Capital Markets at BK Capital Ltd, an investment banking subsidiary of BK Group, a position he had held from November 2023.
His previous functions include working at Business Development Fund (BDF), where he was senior investment analyst, from January 2010 to January 2017.
He also served as Associate Director at the Pan-African advisory firm SouthBridge Group, which has offices in Rwanda, Cote d’Ivoire, France, and London; and Head of Credit Evaluation at Banque Populaire Du Rwanda (BPR), from February 2017 to December 2021.
According to his LinkedIn page, Kayinamura is an experienced senior executive who has a track record in areas such as investment banking, commercial banking, private equity and risk management.
He holds the Financial Risk Manager (FRM) and the Sustainability and Climate Risk (SCR) certifications from the Global Association of Risk Professionals.
His plans for the fund’s growth
Kayinamura told senators he would collaborate with all concerned entities to improve the corporate governance of Agaciro Development Fund and work closely with firms in which it has shares so that they bring more returns to it.
Other plans include building the capacity of the fund’s staff in understanding profitable projects and identifying areas with opportunities where it can invest with aim to increase its asset.
There is also partnering with advanced foreign business companies with work that is similar to that of the fund, with aim to learn from them.
Senators’ recommendations
Senators advised Kayinamura to look for new projects that can generate more funds and returns into the fund to contribute to its expansion.
The Senators also advised the new CEO to continue to make investments in major business companies and monitoring their performance to prevent losses.
Created in 2012, Agaciro Development Fund is a shareholder in 29 companies, and its portfolio spans various sectors including agriculture, financial services, ICT, and Logistics, among others. It also invests in bank deposits and bonds.