A-Link, a Chinese investment company that runs Rwanda’s sole phone assembling plant has expanded its investments in the country venturing into hospitality facilities.

The company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Edward Yin said the restaurant targets the Asian community with Chinese foods and games.

"It is a business aimed at providing the foods we are used to,” he added. The restaurant branded A-Link Chinese Club also includes sea foods on its menu to cater for different culture.

The Asian community is estimated at about 1000, there are also 700 Chinese and 70 Koreans in Rwanda.

Additionally, A-Link Chinese Club with customised decors has a bar, body treatment room and Chinese games such as majiang, a solitaire type of game. The club employs 15 Rwandans who are undergoing light Chinese language trainings to help them in service delivery.

Yin said that the menu will soon include local foods as they continue understanding the market. "We will then consider launching though we are now operational,” he revealed.

A-Link Chinese Club brings the number of Chinese restaurants across the country to four after Flamingo and Shanghai.

The restaurant located in Rugando, Kimihurura is valued at $0.3 million (Rwf170.3 million), bringing the Chinese firm’s investment in Rwanda to about $1.3 million (Rwf737.8 million).

The Chinese firm through its investment arm, A-Link Technologies started its operations in Rwanda last year with an initial investment of $0.5 million (Rwf282.3 million).

It was behind the development of the mobile phone programmed in Kinyarwanda branded ‘Alira’, which later changed to ‘A-Link’.

Owing to the availability of cheap and promotional handsets on the market, the company affiliated to China Link, Digital and Technology Company Limited opted to venture into assembling Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) television sets.

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