As Rwanda’s first Initial Public Offer (IPO) by Bralirwa draws close, the Capital Markets Advisory Council (CMAC) has launched a two weeks pre-offer campaign across the country.

Bralirwa is the leading beer and soft drinks manufacturer and distributor in Rwanda and is putting final touches on the preparation for selling 30 percent of government-owned shares.

"This is the first phase of the campaign and we are targeting opinion leaders, business people as the IPO take place soon,” said Celeste Rwabukumba CMAC Operations Manager

Rwabukumba also said that this is a sensitization campaign that would enlighten the public about the benefit of buying the government shares since they are the target beneficiaries.

The pre-offer campaign started in the Northern Province from where it will be moved to other parts of the country and the sensitization will be done through media organizations such as radios, televisions and newspapers.

After this IPO, government is expected to off-load its shares in three of the country’s biggest companies which include MTN Rwanda and Sonarwa, an insurance company.

With IPO, it means that Rwandans can own shares in Bralirwa although the date for this IPO is still not known.
Discussions are ongoing, and it is expected that the shares will be listed at the end of this year.

CMAC is the overseer and regulator of Rwanda’s stock markets and it is also charged with contributing to Rwanda becoming a competitive financial center in the region.

Ends