Rwanda Development Board (RDB)’s ‘Doing Business’ desk will focus on deepening reforms next year to address broader business climate issues, a senior official has said. 
Specifically, the ‘Doing Business’ desk will concentrate on improving service delivery by modernizing business registration and introduction of client charters that are enforceable.

"We also want to move to electronic online transactions - we are already doing that but in a doing business perspective.  We have the quickest paper based system to register companies in the World but remember it is paper based,” Frank Twagira, the Coordinator, National Doing Business Taskforce at RDB told Business Times recently.

Twagira argued that modernization of business registration will facilitate getting rid of the cumbersome paper work needed for registration of a business.

"On-line is efficient in the sense that one will be able to register business in one day. Instead of coming to RDB to register a business – everything is going to be done on-line. This will increase efficiency for the business community,” he said.

He also mentioned that the on-line registration process should be possible by the end of January 2010.

According to Twagira, the ‘Doing Business’ desk will also introduce enforceable client charters to improve service delivery to customers by holding service providers accountable.  

"Institutions need to put in place something that is binding,” he explained.

Getting the World Bank ranking as a top reformer for 2010 Twagira said, was the first stage as the country is broadening reforms.   

"We are now looking at the business environment in a holistic way. For instance the Customer Care Service drive is not measured by the World Bank but it does affect businesses,” he added.

The RDB Doing Business Coordinator also mentioned that his desk will work closely with the private sector in order to initiate reforms that will support business.

"This is because they will tell you what works and what does not. This will be more meaningful to them than thin line rules. We are still going to make improvements in the rank but our preoccupation is beyond- the business climate,” he observed.

Also on the list of priorities for next year is streamlining property transactions, cross border trade facilitation especially under the Customs Union and reducing the cost of doing business.

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