Rwanda Diaspora investment forum opened in Kigali yesterday with a call on Rwandans living in the Diaspora to play a critical role in the economic development of the country.Amb.Valentine Sendanyoye Rugwabiza, the Chief Executive Officer of Rwanda Development Board (RDB) urged the Diaspora Community to invest in priority sectors of the economy, including energy, agribusiness, tourism, ICT and mining.“Rwanda needs your technical expertise, we want you to scale up investments, provide private equities to our local entrepreneurs, to play a critical role in capacity building. This will drive the country towards economic prosperity,” she said.“Government has put in place a conducive investment climate for you to invest, come and help fast track our economic development,” Rugwabiza added.Addressing the forum, Dr. Vincent Biruta, the minister for Education urged Rwandans living in the Diaspora to support the country’s science innovative technologies.“In order to exploit our potential in priority sectors of the economy as clearly stipulated in the second Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS2), we need to invest in science and technology, and this is where we need your contribution,” he said.Chantal Umuraza, the executive director of the Private Sector Federation’s chamber of industries, said the need for the Diaspora to engage, empower and innovate for strong communities is key to economic sustainability.“Rwanda recognises the important role the Diaspora can play in developing our economy. They will act as a catalyst in bringing innovation and best practices in different areas of public and private sector investment,” Umuraza said.Over the years, Rwanda has registered tremendous growth and it is this trend that attracts many Rwandans living abroad to come seeking opportunities to invest in.The government offers business opportunities information through Rwanda Development Board and Rwandan embassies around the world.Dr Egide Karuranga, a professor at Laval School of Business in Canada and one of the participants, said multinationals are investing in countries with best international business practices and urged Rwanda to position itself to attract such companies.The forum was organised by the Rwanda Diaspora Global Network, Rwanda Development Board, and the Private Sector Federation.Rwanda is the second-best place to do business in Africa, ranked 32nd out of 189 countries globally surveyed by the World Bank Doing Business report 2014.
