Swedish Finance minister to woo investors to Rwanda

Visiting Swedish Finance minister Anders Borg said he will encourage his country’s business community to consider investing in Rwanda. Borg was speaking to journalists yesterday shortly after meeting President Paul Kagame at Village Urugwiro. They discussed Africa and Rwanda’s growth prospects and how Sweden can partner with the country. “I think we should strengthen the economic relationship between the two countries as much as we can. There are great opportunities to invest in a fast-growing country like Rwanda,” Borg said. He highlighted telecommunication, agribusiness, and information technology as some of the areas where Swedish entrepreneurs can invest. Swedish telecom companies, Tigo and Ericsson have already invested in Rwanda, taking advantage of the fast-growing mobile phone penetration that is now at 62.8 per cent of the country’s population of eleven million. Borg’s visit to Rwanda is part of a three-nation tour of East Africa that is also covering Kenya and Uganda. “We have a very optimistic view on the future of Africa. Africa is a growing region and particularly East Africa,” he said. Rwanda’s economy is projected to grow 7.5 per cent in 2014, according to estimates made in December last year by the Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF). The country’s burgeoning sectors of construction, mining, agriculture, tourism, and services like insurance and banking continue to attract investments and entrepreneurs from far and wide. The World Bank says Rwanda is one of the best places to do business in the world. Rwanda’s Finance and Economic Planning Minister, Amb. Claver Gatete, said Kigali has cordial relations with the Kingdom of Sweden, with the latter contributing $30 million in annual development aid to Rwanda. The minister said more business ties will be encouraged between the two countries, along with the aid partnership that is normally renewed every three years.

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Swedish Finance minister to woo investors to Rwanda