PARTNERSHIP:Private sector development in AfricaAs the Rwandan parliament today hosts a high level meeting aimed at discussing private sector development in Africa, members of the business community commended the ongoing doing business reforms.All operators concur that the reforms have promoted a business friendly environment in the country.Rwanda Development Board (RDB) last year introduced four fundamental reforms to enable a conducive investment climate, making it easier to start a business, dealing with construction permits, registering property, and trade across borders. Speaking to The New Times yesterday, Charles Ngarambe, the CEO of Kigali Bus Services (KBS), said that reforms have made it easier to start a business in the shortest time possible."RDB has facilitated us in terms of getting visas on time for foreign expatriates who come to work on the equipment we use in our buses. This has improved the way we conduct our business,” he said.Ngarambe mentioned that the process of property registration is very quick thus giving Rwanda an edge to become a globally competitive economy. According to the World Bank report released late last year, Rwanda ranked as the top business friendly destination in East Africa, the third in Africa and the second top reformer globally.The country was ranked the third easiest place to do business in Africa after and the economic giant on the continent, South Africa."Doing business reforms have motivated people to be job creators in a sense that people can easily start and register their businesses,” said Tharcisse Ngabonziza, the President of CHIC Investment Group.He said that he started his business before the implementation of doing business reforms and during that time, it took him about four days to register his business. The process is now done within 24 hours. "We appreciate what our government is doing to offer a very receptive environment to dynamic private sector business ventures,” he noted.RDB also made getting credit easier with a new secured transactions act and insolvency act to make secured lending more flexible, allowing a wider range of assets to be used as collateral and a general description of debts and obligations. Hannington Namara, the CEO of the Private Sector Federation (PSF), said that the reforms have boosted the growth of the private sector."Good investment climate promotes creativity. People are busy setting up business companies due to the fact that the reforms have eased the way they start operations,” he noted.According to RDB, the country will continue to enhance progress beyond the World Bank Doing Business indicators to improve the business environment.The institution will continue the public private dialogue that has precipitated some of the reforms as well as drive the efforts to provide a better and conducive business climate in order to encourage private sector growth.