The Rwanda Development Board (RDB) will develop provincial websites for promotion of investment opportunities upcountry. Rosemary Mbabazi, the RDB Director for Investors Mobilisation said that the development of the websites will come after developing investment proposals for each province. “We have already received their focal areas for investment and our experts are working with district leaders on how to develop their ideas,” she explained. “Each province presents four prioritised areas for investment,” Mbabazi added. The collection of information addressed with a common domain name via internet will be developed by the RDB IT Office. Each provinces website is expected to have provincial and district websites hyperlinked. Rwanda’s four provinces comprising of 27 districts include the eastern, western, northern and southern. Kigali City has three districts. Without being specific on the time frame, Mbabazi said that the websites are expected but said that they maybe ready as soon as proposals are ready. The move aims to spread investments across the whole country in order to fast track economic development from all frontiers. RDB officials say that it is important to develop promote investment in the countryside since these rural areas constitute the biggest percentage of the population. The rural Rwanda has constitutes about 80 percent of the estimated 10 million people. Statistics from RDB show that there are more investments registered in Kigali City than in other parts of the country. For example, only 19 percent of $230 billion investments registered last year were in the countryside of Rwanda. It is believed that this will also help “slow immigration to urban areas who seek for employment and ‘greener pasture’.According to Rwamagana District Mayor in the Eastern Province, Valens Ntezirembo, investments upcountry will provide more jobs for residents. “These areas have cheap labour which is good for any investor,” he said. During a meeting between RDB and provincial governors and district mayors early this year, local leaders were also urged to come up with draft incentives that may attract investors into their areas. RDB also plans to establish state of art industrial parks for each province in the near future. Ends
