Kigali to host continental electronic payment switch

Kigali is set to be the host city for an African electronic payment system, as part of the deals that were reached at the just-concluded Rwanda Investment Forum. This was disclosed during an interview with Dr Mohan Kaul, the head of the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC), at the conclusion of the two-day high-level meet. CBC were the co-organisers of the event that ended in Kigali yesterday. “One of the formal deals made was within the ICT area in which an Indian-based firm called Opus Solutions, an electronic payment system provider, committed to establish its Africa regional office in Kigali,” Kaul said during an exclusive interview. London-based CBC is a business arm of the Commonwealth of Nations Secretariat. Rwanda is the latest entrant to this 54-member group that is predominantly made up of former British colonies. According to Kaul, the initial investment to be made during the transfer of this switch to Kigali will be in the region of $10 million. Provisional results attained by the CBC Director General ahead of the closure of the conference indicated several forms of commitments made within various sectors. Mohan added that Rwanda’s entry to the commonwealth would greatly enhance its position as an investment location of choice among the investors from this group of nations. “Rwanda’s position as a top reformer in doing business ranking is most likely going to boost its prospects as a favourite investment destination within the commonwealth just by looking at the initial outcomes of this conference,” Mohan said. “One of the things that the commonwealth does to its members is provision of business linkages to one of the largest grouping of nations in the world.” He added that the aim of CBC is to get Rwanda into that network which should assist with its growth aspirations. Read full interview in tomorrow’s edition Ends

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Kigali to host continental electronic payment switch