The visitors included Ahmed Sadek Elsewedy, Chairman of Elsewedy Electric, and his wife, Anita Dravec; Miguel Ángel Gil Marín, CEO and majority shareholder of Atlético Madrid; Francesco Calvo, President of Business Operations at Aston Villa; and Olivier Granet, Managing Partner and co-CEO of Kasada Capital, and his wife, Quitterie Granet.
Calvo’s visit comes less than two months after Visit Rwanda signed a landmark partnership with Aston Villa, making the Rwandan tourism brand the English club’s Official Front-of-Shirt Partner, Official Tourism Partner and Official Coffee Provider.
Under the agreement, announced on July 14, 2026, Visit Rwanda branding appears on the shirts of Aston Villa’s men’s, women’s and youth teams, while the partnership also covers tourism promotion, football development, coach education and other exchanges between Rwanda and the club.
Calvo and the other visitors were among the distinguished personalities who named baby mountain gorillas during this year’s Kwita Izina ceremony, held in Kinigi, Musanze District, on Friday, September 4.
The meeting followed a similar engagement on Friday, when President Kagame received several other personalities who participated in the naming ceremony.
Those who met the President included Dominic Barton, Chairman of Rio Tinto and LeapFrog Investments; Shaikha Al Nuwais, Secretary-General of UN Tourism; Paul Danforth, President of CAA Sports; and former Manchester United and France captain Patrice Evra.
The football and business leaders received by President Kagame over the two days were among 22 distinguished namers drawn from the worlds of conservation, tourism, business, sport, entertainment, philanthropy and public service.
Other personalities who took part in the ceremony included Olympic high-jump champion Mutaz Essa Barshim, UCI President David Lappartient, Rwandan gospel singer Israel Mbonyi, filmmaker Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo and former French international Mamadou Sakho.
The 21st Kwita Izina ceremony brought together communities, conservationists, government officials, international partners and visitors to celebrate Rwanda’s mountain gorillas and the country’s conservation achievements.
Held under the theme “Conservation is Life: Sustaining the Future,” this year’s ceremony saw 22 baby mountain gorillas given names, bringing the number of gorillas named through Kwita Izina since 2005 to 460.
Kwita Izina, which means “to give a name” in Kinyarwanda, is inspired by Rwanda’s centuries-old tradition of naming newborn children in the presence of family and community.
The ceremony became an official annual event in 2005 and has since grown into an international platform for celebrating mountain gorilla conservation and recognising the role of communities and partners in protecting their habitat.
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