Government is developing the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) strategic action plan to strengthen trade between Rwanda and America.

Currently art and craft pieces from Rwanda dominate the AGOA market.

Claire Akamanzi, the deputy director of Rwanda investment and export promotions agency (Riepa) said: "The strategic plan will seek for opportunities and how to take advantages of them in order to make Vision 2020 a reality."

She said the plan is being developed by staff in the Commerce ministry and Riepa. Akamanzi was however quick to say that external help may be acquired— since the plan is a necessity. Rwanda is one of the countries that embraced AGOA by putting in place legal instruments to regulate the exports under AGOA.

It designated Rwanda Revenue Authority as the government agency to handle all exports under AGOA.

The Act has provided an opportunity for Rwandan exporters to get contacts with US handicrafts buyers for future orders. However, these contacts did not materialise as expected due to constraints such as low capacity of production, consistency in supply in terms of quality, quantity and time delivery as well as lack of electronic payment system in Rwanda.

Akamanzi is however optimistic that the strategic action plan has a lot to offer in order to reap more benefits while addressing those constraints.

"It is a measure to expand our export base thereby developing a concrete action plan to enhance the country’s capacity to diversify exports and to improve its performance in the AGOA market," she explained.

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