TOP STORY: Rwanda ‘doing business’ targets double digits

“We want Rwanda to rank among the top ten countries where investors find it easy to do business by making the business environment for them more friendly,” - Clare Akamanzi, the RDB Deputy CEO for Business Operations and Services Rwanda Development Board (RDB) has embarked on business reforms that will see the country achieve a double digit figure on the world rankings. The rankings done by the World Bank are based on how a country attracts investment by maintaining a conducive business climate. The reforms whose priority with effect from next year will address major challenges previously experienced in starting a business, construction licenses, getting credit, protecting the investor and ensuring progress on trading across boarders. “We want Rwanda to rank among the top ten countries where investors find it easy to do business by making the business environment for them more friendly, said Clare Akamanzi, the RDB Deputy CEO for Business Operations and Services. To start a business, one will not be required to go through all the eight procedures in various offices that existed before as this was time consuming and costly. Instead all the services for the registration of the business will be done in a one stop center in the RDB. Another major reform is the abolition of the minimum capital in starting a business as well as a 24 hour requirement for the registration of the business. Reforms will also be stretched to the registration of property where land rights have been increased hence more opportunities for land transactions have been offered. Previously, application for land titles together with certified sale contract and original certificate of registration and property valuation by the district would take five months at a cost of between Rwf150,000 and Rwf200,000. In general, the whole process took in most cases more than one year. With the new ‘Doing Business’ reforms, the whole process is expected to take only a maximum of 9 days costing about Rwf27,000. “Investors find access to credit as their biggest impediment that is why we want to make it more accessible to the potential investors and help them grow,” said Angelique Kantengwa, the in charge of the Credit Bureau at the National Bank of Rwanda (BNR). Credit rankings are based on two sub- indicators that is strengthening of legal rights index which measures the legal rights of borrowers and lenders and depth of credit information index which measures scope, quality and coverage of credit information available. In the bid to process exporters, there has been decentralization of exports meaning that all export formalities that were done only at Gikondo can now be processed at any customs office to avoid delay in exports. And bank payments that were made only at Gikondo and Kanombe using only Commercial Bank of Rwanda (BCR) has been diversified and payment can be made through Ecobank and Bank of Kigali. Ends

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TOP STORY: Rwanda ‘doing business’ targets double digits