Private Sector should lead business transformation

Editor,My take is that even though the Government of Rwanda is playing a key role in formulating business friendly policy, it is doing too much thinking for the private sector and thus limiting innovation.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Private Sector Federation officials during a meeting with a visiting Indian delegation last month. The New Times/File.

Editor,My take is that even though the Government of Rwanda is playing a key role in formulating business friendly policy, it is doing too much thinking for the private sector and thus limiting innovation.

For example, how can the government be the one driving the customer care campaign through Rwanda Development Board? I thought the private sector is the one that makes profit and thus keen to do whatever would be good for their business. You see, even capital mobilisation becomes easier where there is more innovationFrancis, Nairobi -------------------------------------------Editor,Mentality, mentality, mentality. Actually the Rwandan government is doing perfectly well in pushing for change in the private sector, rather than the other way round. For the simple reason that the Rwandan social environment has never been prepared well to deal with innovations, and that is because of its colonial background.I think the Rwandan government, despite its unquestionable record of pushing for change, it is still not doing what is needed to overhaul the Rwandan society to bring it up to the level of Kenya, Nigeria...and so on. The mistake that the Rwandan Government is doing is to push for change from within as if you’re campaigning against complacency and not inexperience. That’s to use the mind that caused a problem, to find a solution to that same problem; it will take longer for that brain to get a perfect solution.Customer care campaign, for instance, should have been done by hiring an outside firm to train Rwandans. Capital mobilisation would help innovation, only if social environment is conducive, in terms of "mindset”.Taha, Kigali(Online reactions to Alline Akintore’s article, Why Rwanda’s startups didn’t make Forbes list, The New Times, December 17)