The just concluded 2010 India Investment Road Show that took place from October 18-26 in India was successful, says Clare Akamanzi the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Rwanda Development Board (RDB),

The 26-member delegation was headed by the Minister of Infrastructure, Vincent Karega.

"The road show that took place in the four cities of India, that is Mumbai, Ahmedabad Gujarat, New Delhi and Bangalore, was very successful and the feedback we got was really exciting, "she said.

"We chose those four cities because they are the biggest commercial cities of India”.

Akamanzi, who was also on the delegation, stressed that they chose India for the road show because its one of the fastest growing economies in the world whose strength will be most felt in the future.

She added that, the delegation was very well received in each of the cities they visited with an average of one hundred sixty (160) business entrepreneurs attending each of the plenary sessions.

She said that, the question-answer sessions following the panel discussions illustrated that there was strong and genuine interest among many of the Indian business people to bring their companies to Rwanda.

"We got some companies from India who promised to come and invest in our country, for instance, ESSAR which is USD 15 billion revenue company, agreed to send a team to Rwanda to assess opportunities in geothermal exploration/methane gas extraction and gold exploration,” she explained.

Akamanzi underscored that, the one-on-one meetings were extremely fruitful for the representatives from the Rwanda private sector,and most of them made connections with Indian entrepreneurs and companies that will potentially supply them with goods and services or expertise they need to move their business forward.

According to Faustin Kananura Mbundu, the 1st Vice President of the Private Sector Federation (PSF), the highlights of the road show included investment proposals from some businesses and the signing of five MOUs (Memorandum of Understanding) between PSF and associations representing Indian commerce and industry in the three cities of Mumbai, Ahmedabad Gujarat and Bangalore.

"Of the particular importance is the MOU with the Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association which provides for industrial attachments and training to Rwanda entrepreneurs and students at members’ plants,” she noted.

The road show was organized by the government through the Rwanda High Commission in India and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce (FICCI) in collaboration with RDB.

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