The Private Sector Federation (PSF) has said that the resource and documentation centre that was commissioned three months ago with the aim of enhancing information access is on course despite a slow start.

The centre will act as an information inquiry point within the PSF to provide business related data in areas of investment, development and poverty levels among others.

"The constant need to cater for the information needs of our members and the general public and the lack of efficient business information centres in Rwanda is the underlying rationale for developing and implementing the resource centre,” Jennifer Turatsinze, PSF’s Resource and Documentation Center manager said.

The facility that was commissioned in August this year is funded by the PSF, the federation’s members and the Africa Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) and will cost a tune of Rwf41.1.

The PSF on its side will have to part with Rwf22 million while its members will contribute Rwf2.2 million and the ACBF $30,000 (Rwf16.9).

With this centre, PSF seeks to establish relevant information sources based on the information needs of the business community private sector and policy makers. The federation also seeks to establish essential links with appropriate institutions to ease access to other databases not in their custody.

Turatsinze said that the centre is looking forward to becoming a one-stop globally connected and IT powered information centre that is self sustaining.

She added that the federation seeks membership for the centre from both individuals and corporate institutions at a fee Rwf50,000 and Rwf100,000 annually respectively.

However, the umbrella arm of the business community says that the project is hindered by a number of factors including the poor reading culture in Rwanda, lack of awareness of the centre and high costs of reading material.

The facility will also ensure that the business information is centralized and people can easily find information about the market, finance and standards.

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