With more businesspersons choosing to invest in the country, Rwanda Investment and Exports Promotion Agency (Riepa) has entered a contract with entrepreneurs promising to serve them better. The performance contract that Riepa calls ‘Client Charter’ was launched on Friday during a dinner organised by the government at Kigali Serena Hotel. Commerce minister Protais Mitali graced the function. Mitali also launched the Investors’ Annual Recognition Day, which is meant to recognise the private sector as the engine for development. The move comes after recent Riepa statistics indicated that the country has registered 123 projects worth Frw278 billion this year. That turn-out is the highest in the history of Riepa. In 2000 when the agency was launched, it attracted 25 projects, worth Frw10 billion. Mitali said the vote of confidence in Rwanda is a sign that the country’s competitive edge no longer lies primarily on physical endowments, size of markets or proximity to the sea. “Today, more and more competition lies on efficiency in setting businesses, enabling them to thrive and minimising costs,” he said. He said creating an ever improving business climate that enables the rapid growth of business is the government’s goal. To ease doing business in the country, the government is establishing a Business Registration Agency as a one-stop centre for all business registration. Commercial courts will open for business next year. “You may be aware that we are also working on particular reforms related to the ‘Doing Business’ ranking of the World Bank,” Mitali said. Enumerating the achievements, the vice chairman of Riepa Board, Xavier Mbarubukeye, said 441 projects worth Frw992 billion have been registered in the past seven years.“We owe this to the very supportive Government, very committed investors and the dedication of the management and staff of Riepa,” he said. Already, 62 out of 123 projects registered in 2007 valued at Frw188 billion are operational. In aggregate terms, the number of projects registered this year represent 28 percent of all registered projects for the past seven years. Adding that in value terms, this represents nearly 30 percent of investment value registered over the same period. At least 336 projects out of 441 that represent 78 percent of registered projects are being implemented. In value terms, it accounts for Frw646 billion, nearly 65 percent of the registered investment value. “This conversion rate is among the highest in the region. It shows that the majority of investments registered actually begin operations soon thereafter,” Mbarubukeye said. See related story in the Business Magazine inside Ends
