President Paul Kagame on Thursday shared Rwanda’s economic success story at the fourth Everest Capital Emerging Markets Forum in Miami, United States.The Forum attracted over 200 participants, including investors managing funds for some of the world’s largest public and private pension, hedge and sovereign funds gathered to hear of Africa’s increasing economic opportunities.“It was a daunting task, but we had to start from somewhere. We had to take on responsibility of rebuilding the country. Even though we benefited from external support, we decided early on to take the lead. We had to take the lead in building the foundation necessary for the country. We knew if we didn’t take ownership, it wasn’t going to last,” the Head of State said at the function.Everest Capital, an investment manager that has been investing in emerging markets since 1990, hosted the fourth Everest Capital Emerging Markets Forum, building on the success of the past three events.Kagame also shared the vision Rwandans continue to build upon.“Instead of divisive politics, our vision was to bring together the people of the country, for them to value each other. It all starts with the people, we are investing in the education, health, capacity of our people to be able to contribute and participate inclusively to Rwanda’s development,” he said, stressing the importance of building institutions to drive the country. “We are building institutions that will be a firm foundation on which the people of Rwanda can build on. We have worked to make sure our economic growth is not just numbers but is inclusive of all Rwandans.”Leadership and developmentThe country’s growth is expected to climb to 8 per cent this year, according to government projections, from 7.4 per cent in 2011. Rwanda ranks eighth out of 185 countries in the ease of starting a business, according to the World Bank. It ranks 52nd globally in the ease of doing business, the highest in sub- Saharan Africa after Mauritius and South Africa.Echoing President Kagame’s point of the need to focus on the population, former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the audience about the need for visionary leadership in order to achieve development.“These countries have to come together; you have to have institutions and rule of law. You have to fight corruption; people can’t just believe that leaders are benefiting but not the people,” she said.Held once a year for the past four years, the Everest Capital Emergent Markets forum aims to explore investment opportunities in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Everest Capital is an independent investment management firm founded in 1990 with over $2 billion in assets under management.
