The Head of State was speaking Thursday in Kigali while meeting 80 members of the Young Presidents’ Organisation (YPO) from 17 countries.
The discussions revolved around different topics including leadership, technology, fighting corruption and Rwanda’s transformation among others.
The visitors are in the country as part of the YPO Rwanda Life Changing Experience trip.
Speaking about Rwanda’s renewal journey after the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, Kagame said that the country started by investing in people, health, education, security and stability.
“The challenge for us is how do we sustain this progress. How do we reach everyone, make sure people can feed themselves and that we are getting investments that make everything sustainable. 24 years ago, life expectancy was 41 years old, now it is 67 years old. We want to sustain that, keep that as a minimum but also go beyond,” he said.
Speaking about investing in technology, Kagame said that many people considered the ambition as wrong, though it later became part of solutions to problems.
“We were asked how you can think about technology when your people don’t have food. We didn’t see technology as a burden but as a solution to problems we had,” explained.
He said that facing challenges need people not to celebrate too much but look ahead.
“When you address a challenge, don’t celebrate too much because another one is coming. That is how you keep the balance,” he urged.
Speaking about fighting corruption, the Head of State said that accountability is key towards good results. He said that they cannot allow corruption as it can give non-affordable results.
On overcoming challenges, Kagame said that when people have aspirations for tomorrow, they don’t have to be afraid, rather they should stand up and face the challenges.
On Rwanda’s transformation, he emphasized that Rwandans have left the fate behind and started new page of life.
“We have left the emergency situation behind us. We are no longer trying to survive, we are living,” he noted.
The Young Presidents’ Organization is the largest global network of business leaders with more than 24,000 members in 130 countries. The Rwanda Life Changing Experience trip will allow the 80 YPO members to visit Rwanda and learn about investing opportunities.
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