Business round-up: Arian exhibition extended

The Arian trade exhibition that brought together manufacturers from Iran has been extended to March 8. This comes after exhibitors decried poor turn up of visitors in the last 15 days at Amahoro Petit Stade in Remera. This means that Rwandans will have another chance to procure Iranian products exhibited at the expo which was initially poised to end last Sunday. According to Arash Ashtari, the Head of Commercial Affairs of Arian Trade and Investment Group, the extension was based on public demand, who asked for extension as they get their salaries to buy household items. Enterprise Rwanda to boost small enterprises The Private Sector Federation (PSF) has embarked on a special programme dubbed ‘Enterprise Rwanda’ that is expected to change the way of doing business in Rwanda. This is aimed at boosting the economic potential of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) in the country. Under the new programme, business leaders from SMEs at the executive and managerial level will undergo training in business management. It also includes an outreach campaign, entrepreneurship workshops, a business ‘health check’ system, and business plan preparation guidelines. The pilot programme was launched last week, with at least 30 business leaders from SMEs around the country attending the training session. The initial cost of the training programme stands at USD 26,000 and is funded by Africa Capacity Building Foundation. While the pilot training is being done at no cost, subsequent trainings will be done at a fee. It takes 6 months beginning with a business skills training session and concluded with an evaluation of what progress has been made after the session. Manzi Rutayisire Antoine, the Director of Entrepreneurship Development and Business Growth at PSF, underscored the need for SMEs growth in order to be sustainable and increase productivity. KCB to cross - list on Rwanda bourse Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) is ready to float its shares on the Rwanda stock market, but the initiative awaits an endorsement from the shareholders’ annual general meeting. The move would allow Rwandans to purchase shares in East Africa’s largest indigenously owned bank, without necessarily trading on USE and NSE, which are Uganda and Kenya’s stock market respectively. USE is an acronym that stands for Uganda Securities Exchange while NSE is the Nairobi Stock Exchange. According to Maurice K. Toroitich, Managing Director of KCB Rwanda S.A, Rwanda will enjoy the benefits of cross-listing by the end of this year once the decision is approved by shareholders. However, cross-listing on the Rwandan bourse will also require approval from the Rwanda Capital Market Advisory Council (CMAC), the country’s stock market regulators. Robert Mathu, Executive Director, CMAC says that they have put in place sufficient infrastructure to facilitate any company that would like to list. JCI steering youths into entrepreneurship Junior Chambers International (JCI), a US based Non Government Organisation (NGO) has embarked on a programme to develop Rwandan youth into effective business leaders. The organisation targets young professionals and entrepreneurs within the age group of 18-40 years. These are enrolled upon payment of membership fees. Pascal Mugisha, the National Secretary General of JCI-Rwanda said that the organisation solely aims at turning the youths into active citizens, who can contribute to the development of an economy. JCI-Rwanda has about 220 members, where 120 are students and 100 are entrepreneurs and business leaders. USD 30 million for financial management reforms In order to develop a strong and efficient Public Financial Management System (PFMS), government is investing at least $30 million for over five years into the programme. Spearheaded by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, the reforms are aimed at Rwanda getting an enhanced PFMS of international standards by 2012. According to Fred Mujuni, the Accountant General, “The main driver of the cost is to develop capacity building, followed by enhancement of systems in the Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) and the Office of Auditor General.” While making a presentation on “PFM Reforms in Rwanda”, Mujuni said that the aim of the reform strategy is to institutionalise the reforms within the government’s operations. It is envisaged that the concentration on development of the above areas will lead to, “improved information on resources received by service delivery units, better monitoring of expenditure payment arrears, public enterprises and autonomous government agencies.” Specifically, the government is spending the huge amount of money on professionalization of accounting cadres, development and implementation of SmartGov, an e-government system that connects all government systems electronically. As part of the five year (2008-2012) PFM Reform Strategy, key reforms that have already been undertaken include, the development of legal and regulatory framework that includes an organic budget and procurement law and various taxation laws. The PFM Reform Strategy covers all the dimensions of Public Finance Management. Ends