IGIHE

Category: Business

  • Burundi internet fees expected to go down

    Internet users in Burundi are expected to pay less if the country’s first fibre optic network fetches high-speed and low-cost internet through Rwanda and Tanzania early next year, an official has said.

    Burundi, with the help of the World Bank (WB), is embarking on about 1,300-kilometres of fibre optic to cover all the 17 provinces, the capital Bujumbura and key borders with Tanzania and Rwanda.

    Salvator Niyibizi, the Executive Secretary of the Executive Secretariat for Information and Communication Technologies (SETIC) in the Burundian Ministry of Transport, Posts and Telecommunications says completion of the first phase of the cable is expected in the first quarter of 2012.

    This will see the so-called national backbone linked with similar infrastructure in Rwanda and Tanzania at the main border posts. Another phase will cover the provinces.

    Rwanda has completed laying its national backbone covering 2,300 kilometres in the capital Kigali and main border posts while Tanzania continues to work on its national backbone infrastructure of more than 10,000 kilometres.

    The Burundi backbone cable will be linked to that of Rwanda on two main entry points between the two countries.

    One link will be in Bugesera, East of Rwanda while another one will be in South East of Rwanda at Akanyaru border post. On the Tanzanian side, the link will be at Kobero, South of Burundi.

    Tanzania has direct access to the submarine cables with international bandwidth while Rwanda gets connection through Uganda all the way from Mombasa, Kenya where one submarine cable has a landing point.

    Burundi hopes to fetch connection from both sides but the most urgent and reliable one is that from Rwanda, according to sources.
    Currently some traffic from Burundi goes via Rwanda through microwave while the rest is sent via satellite.

    Once Burundi backbone is connected, it is expected to lower the cost of internet in the East African country, which depends heavily on expensive and slow age-old satellite connectivity.

    Like in other East African countries, telecom operators in Burundi pay US$2,500-3,000 per Mbps (megabyte per second) per months for international bandwidth and this is expected to fall significantly with the fibre optic connectivity.

    “We expect the cost of Internet to go down. Maybe it will not go down in the beginning but we expect it to go down up to 70% and above in the long-run,” Mr. Niyibizi said in an interview in Kigali last Tuesday.

    Mr. Niyibizi was speaking to the East African Business Week during the 18th Congress of the East African Communications Organisation (EACO) that concluded Friday last week in Kigali, Rwanda.

    This is expected to ease doing business in Burundi as many companies, government and individuals continue to depend on the Iinternet a necessary communication and business tool.

    EACO is an initiative of Communications Regulators, Broadcasters and National Posts Corporations in Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

    Since end-2008, Burundi has embarked on the national backbone project with the support of US$10.5 million from the World Bank (WB).
    Niyibizi said that the backbone project is a public-private partnership. It brings together the government and five telecom operators.

    The consortium created a company known as Burundi Backbone Systems (BBS) to coordinate and follow up the implementation of the backbone project.

    The consortium used the WB money as an incentive.
    ZTE, a Chinese company has been given the tender to lay the backbone cable.

    The cable will be pure commercial and the shareholding operators will sell the Internet capacity to the final user. The government is also planning to do another fibre project for e-governance.

    Burundi joins Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya in the quest to make a major shift from costly and slow satellite connectivity to cheap and faster fibre optic connectivity. This story was first published at the East African Business Week.

  • Trade highlights, Rwanda Stock Exchange (RSE)

    Market Report Monday 30th May, 2011 The week opened with a slight
    increase in trade volumes and transactions and the market recorded a
    total turnover of 16’307’000 Rfw from the sale of 709’000 shares of
    Bralirwa traded in 6 transactions. BRALIRWA shares are trading cum
    dividend up to June 13th 2011. Those who buy the shares up to June 13,
    2011 will qualify for the final dividend announced by BRALIRWA. The
    price of Bralirwa shares closed at 230 Rfw depicting a no change in
    price of the Friday’s closing. At the close of trading session, there
    was an outstanding bid of 139’100 Bralirwa shares at 230 Rfw. There
    were also offers of 1400 and 38100 Bralirwa shares at 234 and an offer
    of 15000 shares at 232 Rfw. The KCB and NMG counters did not record
    any activity. The KCB and NMG share prices remained unchanged from the
    Friday’s closing prices of Rwf 175 and Rwf 1200 respectively. NMG
    shares will trade cum dividend until tomorrow Tuesday 2011.

  • BK unveils three new products as part of poverty alleviation drive

    Rwandan’s leading commercial bank, Bank of Kigali BK has launched three new products as part of a campaign to alleviate poverty.

    These include ; Women Entrepreneurship Facility (Intambwe y’abanyarwandakazi), Youth Entrepreneurship Savings Account (YESA SINGIRA) and also Senior Loans and Savings Account (Ntugasaze).

    In his remarks, Lawson Naibo, the Bank’s Chief Operating Officer, pointed out that the intambwe y’abanyarwandakazi product which targets women entrepreneurs, would facilitate them to access credit and financial advice.

    “This will be done particularly to transform the lives of the women who earn less but with sensitive ideas that can contribute to the society,” Naibo said at the launch.

    In a written statement, the bank’s Managing Director James Gatera said the product is intended to facilitate women entrepreneurs in the low end market and also to aptly fit the government’s policy and plan to ensure gender mainstreaming and full participation of women in all activities related to socio-economic development of the nation.

    The Minister of Youth Sports and Culture (MIJESPOC), Protais Mitali who was the Chief Guest during the launch highly welcomed the projects and particularly emphasised on the Youth Entrepreneurship Savings Account.

    “Am very happy about the product because youth will have the opportunity to access the credit without collaterals,” Mitari told IGIHE.COM. He added that since the youth has no security to present to the banks to access credit, the product would help them.

    The Minister challenged the youth to visit the bank to obtain more information on the product so that they can get involved and ultimately become job creators instead of job seekers.

    He also added that his ministry would seek for other possible means to support the unveiled products.

    The three products unveiled by BK are all guarantee free. The bank would help to connect clients with one of two organisations to provide guarantees and the client would easily access the credit.

    The two organizations are the French Agency for Development (AFD) which has branch offices based in Kenya and the Rwanda Development Bank (BRD).

    The credit ranges from RWF 100,000 to RWF 5m depending on the project presented to the bank by a client.

    The credit will be paid back in a period of six months to two years and beyond depending on the income of the borrower at an interest rate of 1.4 percent per month.

  • Ailing local telcom lays off staff

    Following commencement of insolvency proceedings, ailing telcom firm Rwandatel has laid off 43.2 percent of its workforce as part of a company-wide restructuring process, the goal of which is to keep operating costs low and to operate with an optimum number of employees.

    Rwanda’s utilities regulatory agency RURA withdrew Rwandatel’s GSM Mobile license in April this year and within weeks, the Office of the Registrar General had instituted insolvency proceedings against the company.

    The commercial court in Kigali then appointed an administrator to take charge of the company who within a period of two months will advise Court if the company could be turned around or face possible liquidation.

    Operating both its GSM Mobile and Fixed licenses, Rwandatel had a total workforce of 317 employees. Out of these, only 180 have been retained to run its remaining voice, internet and data services all of which run on the fixed network platform.

    Rwandatel’s court appointed administrator Richard Mugisha, said, “In these times when the company is trying to reorganise itself to run its fixed network operation, reducing employees is sad but it has to be done to keep the company afloat. Management must respond by reducing costs and realigning its workforce. As such, we have had to place 137 on technical redundancy as there isn’t sufficient business to justify such a huge workforce. As administration, we shall pay the laid off staff terminal benefits as stipulated in the law”.

     “I feel it is critical to make very difficult adjustments at this time, to address the company’s current reality and to prepare the company for potential success in the future”, Mugisha added.

     Despite these recent developments, the company continues to offer the ever vital voice, internet and data services to individuals and businesses alike. 

  • RwandAir to use Revera passenger revenue accounting solution

    The
    solution will be deployed as a hosted model, giving the airline better control
    on costs and access to best practice data centre capabilities.

     Kale
    Consultants Ltd., the leading solutions provider to the global airline and
    travel industry, announced that RwandAir has selected Kale’s passenger
    revenue accounting solution REVERA for its PRA operations. The solution will be
    deployed as a hosted model, giving the airline better control on costs and
    access to best practice data center capabilities.

    Today,
    the global airline industry is facing various challenges such as volatile
    market conditions, price sensitivity and low margins. In such a scenario,
    airlines need to adopt technology driven business processes to deter the
    growing industry challenges, optimize revenues and remain competitive. Kale’s
    passenger revenue accounting solution – REVERA, helps airlines implement best
    industry practices to proactively adapt to the changing market conditions. It
    enables airlines to deal with the most complex revenue accounting environments
    and respond to the demands of internal customers, with speed and accuracy.

    Speaking
    on the occasion, John Mirenge, CEO, RwandAir said, “RwandAir is on a growth
    path and we are steadily building our plans for the future. In this scenario,
    revenue accounting plays a critical role, from early recognition of revenue to
    feeding timely information to other systems internally. Kale’s REVERA is a
    globally recognized solution – and being able to access it as a hosted platform
    gives us best practice capabilities while reducing significant investments in
    hardware and maintenance costs. We look forward to a long and fruitful
    partnership with Kale.”

    “We are
    pleased that RwandAir has opted for REVERA, to execute their passenger revenue
    accounting requirements. We are confident that REVERA’s industry leading
    capabilities will bring immense value to RwandAir’s growth plans. REVERA has
    proven to be one of the best PRA solutions and we are positive of exceeding the
    expectations of all our customers.” said Ravi Chakravarty, Sales Head –
    EMEA & Asia Pacific, Kale Consultants Ltd.

    REVERA,
    Kale’s new generation passenger revenue accounting solution, helps airlines
    implement industry best practices to proactively adapt to dynamic market
    conditions. It enables airlines to deal with the most complex revenue
    accounting environments and respond to the demands of the senior management
    with speed and accuracy. With its powerful Business Intelligence capabilities
    and end-to-end functionality, REVERA delivers real business value to airlines.
    It transforms the revenue accounting function from a transaction-processing
    environment to a strategic tool, thus empowering airlines to devise competitive
    strategies to succeed in the marketplace.

    The
    components of REVERA are functionally capable of working either in a
    stand-alone mode or can be integrated with other systems used by an airline. It
    can be flexibly deployed in a Hosted, Licensed or Outsourced environment.
    REVERA is powered by the industry leading proration engine APEX.

  • MINICOM launches Rwanda’s first Economic and Trade Atlas

    The ministry of Trade and Industry yesterday launched a distinctive economic and trade atlas. The Atlas that was published by German Development cooperation in partnership with the government.

    During the launch, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Francois Kanimba, pointed out that the new Economic and Trade Atlas is a fundamental tool that will facilitate both foreign and local investors. Present during the launch was MINICOM P.S. Emmanuel Hategeka and Dr. Fand Hegazy, an expert from the German Development Cooperation .

     “It’s an extremely useful book containing information about the economy of the country, it will provide detailed information and guide especially those looking for investment opportunities in the country,” Kanimba said.

    “We shall distribute copies to different government institutions and to our embassies for the world to read and understand the picture of our economy. ” “It is a unique document with a mapping of economic activities with useful information for those interested in the Rwandan economy say Minister Francois Kanimba.

    The project took one and a half years to complete.

    The Atlas is made up of a wide-ranging compilation of information on sectors in the Rwandan Economy and its performances in those departments. The document acts as a powerful tool of reference for investors or anybody interested in economic activities in Rwanda.

    It is based on an official secondary validated source of information represented in a visual and graphical way through the use of cutting edge methods such as Geographical information systems (GIS). GIS is used to capture and present data linked to a geographical location.

    The Atlas consists of 110 pages and 77 chapters and contains comprehensive, relevant and up to date information covering all sectors of the economy presented in a visual way.

    Fand Hegazy elaborates. “It profoundly covers areas within the economy such as demographics, foreign trade, agriculture, investment, regional integration, communication, tourism, energy and even areas less related to economy but which have a certain impact such as health.” It is so rich that it contains information that goes beyond the scope of economics covering other sectors such as health and education.

    The atlas was produced with the aim of putting together an atlas that provides and visualises information about the contemporary Rwanda.

    The book has been designed as a tool for anybody within the business community such as investors and the general public. The atlas will be available for sale at Ikirezi bookstore.

    Information is key in carrying out any economic activity. The Atlas facilitates the process of obtaining data thus contributing to a more efficient way of carrying out economic activities. 

  • Fina Bank urges traders to access loans

    The business community in Rubavu and Rutsiro districts have been urged to acquire loans to expand their businesses.

    The call from FINA Bank, Rwanda’s leading SME bank comes amid government’s initiatives to strengthen the private sector especially the small scale and medium enterprises.

     Jean Philippe Manzi Gakuba, Fina bank’s Rubavu Branch Manager, said that the business community in the two districts should to take advantage of the available liquidity in the bank to access credit for their businesses.

    The bank made the call, yesterday, in Rubavu District during a one day seminar to avail their new plans and consult with clients in regard to its products.

    “We assure them (business people) of enough liquidity in the bank which they should take advantage”, he said, adding that many people were adamant to access credit from the banks after the global financial crisis.

    With the current rise in inflation and increase in commodity prices, the bank is optimistic that its current 17.5 percent interest would remain unaltered to help businesses access loans easily.

    The manager who was speaking during a one-week seminar, urged people with businesses to come up with business plans and forward them to the bank which would help to collect where necessary and acquire loans.

    “This year we are targeting to give out Rwf2 billion in loans to small and medium enterprises,” he said. He added that in the first half of last year, no loans were given out while only a few were lent in the second half.

  • Tigo Rwanda launches mobile money payment service

    Tigo Rwanda, a telecom brand owned by Millicom Cellular International (MIC), recently inaugurated its mobile money services in Rwanda, targeted at subscribers with limited or no access to banking services.

    Tigo Rwanda is the second mobile company to launch such a service after its major competitor MTN Rwanda launched its mobile money product last year.

    Tigo has similar services in Ghana and Tanzania.

    Rwanda’s rural areas have limited access to financial services, with the central bank saying only 1.7 million deposit accounts had been registered by December 2010 out of a population of 9 million.

    With about 3.3 million mobile subscribers shared between MTN and Tigo as of January this year, Rwandan mobile users can utilise the technology to deposit and withdraw money and can pay electricity bills and school fees via text messages.

    “Tigo Cash is basically a wallet on your mobile phone. You don’t have to have a bank account,” said Tom Gutjahr, Tigo Rwanda’s chief executive. To sign up for the service is free but one has to be above 18 years and a Tigo subscriber with a valid identity card.

    Non Tigo subscribers will not be able to register for the service but can receive cash on their network from a Tigo Cash registered peson in any part of the country any time any day.

    “If you are not a “Tigo Cash” user, you will still be able to receive money from other Tigo Cash users,” the CEO said.

    Licensed to operate in Rwanda two years ago, MCL said Tigo Cash can send between $1 and $550.

    John Sebabi, head of payment systems at Rwanda’s central bank, said the new service would deepen financial services.

    “If the number of mobile phone exceeds that of bank accounts, then access to financial services is growing which is line with our objectives of increasing access to such services,” he said.

    The Product Manager, Tongai Maramba announced that Banque Commerciale du Rwanda (BCR) would be the host of the Tigo Cash trust account.

     

  • Actis Weighs Sale of BCR

    Actis LLP, a London-based private- equity firm investing in Africa, Asia and Latin America, may sell its Rwandan bank to Kenyan lenders.

    Banque Commerciale du Rwanda, based in Kigali, the capital, is “a natural acquisition for one of the bigger East African banks wanting to expand their footprint,” Peter Schmid, Actis’s head of Africa, said in a May 12 interview at the firm’s London office. “That’s a probable exit scenario. ”

    Actis, which has $4.6 billion under management, bought an 80 percent stake of BCR in 2004 in a deal valuing the company at $6 million. The Rwandan government kept the rest of the previously state-owned bank. Kenyan lenders including Equity Bank Ltd. (EQBNK) and Kenya Commercial Bank Ltd. (KNCB) are expanding across East Africa, opening branches in Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and southern Sudan, as the region’s economies grow.

    The Rwandan investment was Actis’s first in the country. Gross domestic product has expanded an average 7.5 percent annually from 2004 and 2009, according to the World Bank. About 30 percent of Actis’s capital is invested in Africa, Schmid said.

    The Rwandan Stock Exchange “is a bit small for now” to list for an investment exit, Schmid said.

    Rwanda held its first initial public offering in November when the state sold 25 percent of Brassieries et Lemonaderies du Rwanda SA, a unit of Heineken NV (HEIA), the world’s third-biggest brewer. The stock is the only company listed on the Rwandan Stock Exchange, which started trading on Jan. 31. Kenya Commercial Bank and Nairobi-based Nation Media Group Ltd., East Africa’s biggest media company, are listed on an over-the- counter exchange.

    BRC increased profit almost four-fold in the nine months through September on reduced costs and higher revenue, Managing Director Sanjeev Anand said in December. Net income climbed to 1.7 billion Rwandan francs ($2.8 million) from 433 million francs a year earlier as sales rose 12 percent to 8.5 billion francs, he said. The bank expects full-year net income of 2.2 billion francs, Anand said.

    In 2004, Actis was spun out of CDC Group Plc, a U.K. government-owned investor in developing markets that was originally started 60 years ago as the Colonial Development Corp., to raise money from government, insurers and pension funds to invest in African and Asian companies.

  • Indian firm to invest US$1b in Rwandan Gold, Diamonds

    Rajesh Exports Ltd., India’s largest jewelry maker and exporter, said it may invest as much as $1 billion in Rwanda over the next five years developing the country’s gold industry and building a diamond-trading business.

    The company, based in Bangalore, India, is in talks with Rwanda’s government about proposals that include establishing a gold refinery within six months, Ravi Chandra, the company’s chief executive officer for mining, said in an interview in Kigali.

    Most of the gold mined in Africa is currently exported to South Africa or Europe for processing, Chandra said. Rajesh Exports is seeking to make Rwanda a continental hub for gold processing over the next three to five years.

    “Our aim is to try to bring the gold from most of Africa to Rwanda,” Chandra said.

     Rajesh has begun exploring a 2,000 square-kilometre gold concession in Rwanda that it wants to increase to 15,000 square kilometres, Chandra said. Eventually the company plans to export products including jewelry and coins. It also intends to set up a diamond business that may involve importing and exporting the gems as well as cutting and polishing, he said, without providing further details.

    Talks between the company and the Rwandan government are “still very exploratory” and may take six months to complete, Clare Akamanzi, chief operating officer of the Rwanda Development Board, said in an interview. The projects envisaged by the company may cost $500 million to $1 billion, she said.

    Rajesh Exports is also working with the Rwandan government to establish a legal way to import gold from neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. In March, Rwanda banned the purchase of so-called conflict minerals including gold, tungsten, coltan and tin from Congo after the U.S. passed a law aimed at halting the trade.

    The Dodd-Frank law will require American companies to report any purchases of gold, tin, tungsten and tantalum that might have come from conflict zones in Congo, according to a draft of the regulations on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s website. Fighting has raged in eastern Congo for more than 15 years and armed groups often support themselves by taxing or trading in minerals.

    “We are hopeful to find a legal solution,” Chandra said.