Minister woos Swedish investors

The Investment and Export Promotion minister said a number of sectors in the economy are still unexploited. Hon. Vincent Karega therefore asked the Swedish entrepreneurs to invest in Rwanda saying the country is also peaceful. “The Rwandan economy is still virgin and it has a number of opportunities. With the rule of law in place, it’s a safe economy to invest in,” he said. The minister was opening a networking meeting between the private sector and Swedish companies at Hotel Novotel on 24th. The meeting attracted 15 Swedish companies from various sectors including: Agri-business, Legal services, financial services, construction, and ICT. He cited agriculture, infrastructure and finance as sectors to drive economic development but hastened to say they were not fully exploited. Karega told investors that if they exploited the Rwanda’s strategic location in the Great Lakes Region, they would use the country to supply neibouring Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He tipped the private sector to make good use of Swedish companies saying they were potential markets for Rwandan products. On his part, the Director General of Rwanda Investment and Export Promotion Agency (Riepa) Francis Gatare also urged the Swedish to invest in Rwanda. He said the economy is predictable. “There are reasonable grounds for investing in Rwanda like the average GDP growth rate has been 6 per cent for the last five years, the strong economic vision, inflation of about 5 per cent and a stable currency,” Gatare explained. The Swedish Ambassador to Kenya Anna Brandt said that it was a question of identifying opportunities and learning more about the Rwandan market. “Seeds are sown and hopefully these people will come back and inject their funds in Rwanda,” she said. Ends