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  • Rwanda’s Bank Gets Rwf 7.4bn Boost

    {{One of the largest banks in Rwanda has received a whooping boost of Rwf 7.4 bn from the African Development Bank (AFDB ).}}

    Bank of Kigali (BK) has signed a US$ 12m (Est. Rwf 7.14bn) line of credit and a US$ 500, 000 (Est. 297,500,000) grant agreement for technical assistance from the fund for African Private Sector.

    According to BK’s Managing Director, James Gatera the credit will improve the bank’s liquidity and its ability to support key economic sectors, such as infrastructure, manufacturing, agri-business and tourism.

    “I am pleased that BK is once again able to secure wholesale funding at competitive rates, this credit line will enhance the bank’s ability to increase provision of financial services in the country,” Gatera said.

    The technical assistance grant will strengthen the capacity of the Bank of Kigali as it pursues its strategy to bank the unbanked population and increase financial services in Rwanda.

    It will improve the Bank’s capacity, including designing and implementing environmental policy and aligning it to Rwanda’s commitment to environmental conservation for sustainable economic development.

    The AfDB’s financing and support to the Bank of Kigali is in line with the Rwandan government’s strategy to deepen the availability of banking services by supporting local Rwandan banks and microfinance institutions in their efforts to expand banking services to rural Rwandans.

    The Bank of Kigali has become one of the largest banks in Rwanda, now said to be well positioned to channel funding to micro- small- and medium-enterprises and infrastructure projects.

    The AfDB estimates that 2,075 jobs will be generated in the sub-projects financed with resources from the line of credit.

    Approximately 60 percent of jobs created will be for skilled workers and the beneficiary companies will likely increase their incomes by about 10 percent over the same period.

    Negatu Makonnen the AFDB Country Director noted that the credit line will boost the economic growth by not only generating employments but also business opportunities, especially for micro-small and medium enterprises.

    “The AfDB’s credit facility intervention will help Rwanda’s financial system by making long-term financing available to the Bank of Kigali and its clients, especially local small and medium enterprises” said Negatu Makonnen, AfDB’s resident representative in Kigali.

    “By supporting the growth of local companies, the line of credit will indirectly facilitate job creation and economic empowerment of the beneficiaries, including women and youth, through increased revenues, increased income, and increased capital,” he added.

    The AfDB’s public sector lending operations in Rwanda currently amount to USD 966 million, comprising multi-sector investments in agriculture, transport, human development, public utilities, finance, and industry, mining and environment.

    The AfDB has also approved five on-going multinational projects amounting to USD 179 million. From its private sector window, the AfDB is funding eight projects amounting to USD 87 million.

    This includes financial and technical assistance to the private sector through the Banque Rwandaise de Développement (BRD) and the Bank of Kigali, and direct financing of productive investment projects such as CIMERWA for cement production, and Kivuwatt Power for clean energy.

    The African Development Bank Group’s mission is to help reduce poverty, improve living conditions for Africans and mobilise resources for the continent’s economic and social development.

    With this objective in mind, the institution is assisting African countries – individually and collectively in their efforts to achieve sustainable economic development and social progress.

    In 2011, the Bank of Kigali became the second domestic company to be listed on the Rwanda Stock Exchange.

    It has a credit rating of A+/A1 by Global Credit Rating Agency from South Africa. In 2009 and 2010, the Bank of Kigali was recognized as the Best Bank in Rwanda by emeafinance, in addition to Bank of the Year by the Financial Times.

    {{Ends}}

  • Obama Names Rwandan Onto U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Board

    {{President Obama has now named Clemantine Wamariya to the board of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
    Wamariya knows more about death than a young woman should. She’s an American now, but hovering always in her memory is one of the horrors of the 20th century, the genocide in Rwanda, where she was born. }}

    At only 23 Wamariya is the youngest person ever appointed and the first from Africa. She was still a child when she and her sister ran for their lives.

    She didn’t see her parents until 12 years later, when she won an essay contest sponsored by Oprah Winfrey. Today, she’s a student at Yale and her early memories of Rwanda are not without joy.

    Below are excerpts of an Interview with NPR News.

    {{WAMARIYA}}: We had this huge mango tree in my backyard. Every afternoon we’ll have literally just tons of kids climb that tree and play and make as much noise as we want. And that tree became sort of a world where we could travel. You know, it was a train. It was a plane. It was a car. My memory of childhood is so rich, and I think that’s why I was able to just sort of live and overcome things that had happened, ’cause I remember how beautiful it was growing up in Rwanda.

    MONTAGNE: {{Everything changed in the spring of 1994 when, over the course of just three months, one ethnic group, the Hutus, killed hundreds of thousands of people from mostly another ethnic group, the Tutsis. You were just six and alone in the house with your sister when the killers came for you.}}

    {{WAMARIYA}}: Well, I just remember being in a room and being so scared because I did not know who or what was going to happen. I never knew what death meant. To me, whatever was happening outside, I called it noise. I didn’t know it was genocide until I started studying about it. But no one is telling you what’s going on because everyone is busy trying to find a way to hide and where to pray and how to pray and how to kneel and how to, you know, raise their hand up high so that they can pray more.

    MONTAGNE: {{Do you remember running with your 16-year-old sister when you were six out of the house into a field? I gather you walked and walked and walked for days to get to the first of many places that you spent as a refugee for the next six years in Africa.}}

    {{WAMARIYA}}: Yeah. I mean, how can anyone forget waking up and you know that someone’s going to come and get you. You do not know where they’re going to come – if they’re going to come from the front door, the back door, the window. You’re in a panic, absolutely panic, and jump out and go and run and crawl so much that, you know, your knees are completely bleeding but you can’t stand up. And all you could think about is your stomach. You know, from morning you think of what you’re going to eat to a night where what food, what water can you drink?

    MONTAGNE: {{Your life changed so dramatically when you came to the United States, as a sixth grader.}}

    {{WAMARIYA}}: Well, a sixth grader who hadn’t been in school until sixth grade.

    MONTAGNE: {{Well, you did pretty well because you ended up at Yale. So how do you do well and still hold this other part of your life in your mind? I mean, how is it even possible?}}

    {{WAMARIYA}}: Well, I have had so many incredible people in my life. You know, my first role model being my mother and then my sister, nothing can gander(ph) away. And so when I’m place in a challenge to finish the sixth grade, I will ask for any help I could get so I could get through. But then, you know, to realize that being in school is not only, like, oh, I have received an education, but it’s more to learn about others. You know, why we do things to each other as the way we do, such as killing a whole race. What does that really mean? You know, slowly, yes, that it – sort of learning about it, especially in eighth grade, that’s that question. And since then I’ve been hunting it down, trying to understand psychologically why do humans do such terrible things to each other.

    MONTAGNE: {{Do you see your work in the future, your appointment to the board of the U.S. Holocaust Museum, helping you find an answer?}}

    {{WAMARIYA}}: I think just sitting with incredible leaders who are making decision of others – they might never have an input of what it means to grow up in a refugee camp as a little girl. You have no mother, you have no father. Am I going to give them an input what it means to live in seven countries where people look at you and they think, oh, you are nobody.

    MONTAGNE: {{Is there a particular person who didn’t survive that you think about or that you want especially to be remembered?}}

    {{WAMARIYA}}: There are too many. And it’s not only people that I lost in the genocide. I am most talking about people that I lost along the way, you know, living in refugee camp and dying with diseases that can strike you in a second. Those people had become my family. What I want to remember is the joy that filled my house every Sunday when we had visitors and the joy that I had playing in the mango tree.

    MONTAGNE: {{Clemantine Wamariya, thank you for taking the time to speak with us.}}

    {{WAMARIYA}}: Thank you so much.

  • Our Goal is To Be Free Rather Than Be Dictated To–Kagame

    President Paul Kagame

    {{Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame is, like his country, very pleasant but enigmatic.

    I got a chance to talk with him for two hours today, along with a dozen or so other journalists here on a trip sponsored by the International Reporting Project. Before I get into details, let me say that Kagame is quite charming and personable.}}

    He doesn’t act at all like a war criminal or dictator, which are some of the charges his most strident critics throw at him. Kagame comes off more like a professor, making his points at length, with a chuckle here or some slightly irritable admonishment there.

    Still, we had a job to do and tried to get at some of the more critical issues swirling around this architect of an “African success story” – beginning with the perception some have that his government is regarded as authoritarian, stifling of critics and free speech.

    We acknowledged that in our two weeks touring Rwanda, we had seen some pretty amazing signs of progress made in health, education and the economy. Many Rwandans say they believe things are getting better.

    But economic growth and democracy, as one student at the University of Rwanda told us, are two different things.

    We asked Kagame about the findings from several reports, such as Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders, which rank Rwanda as very poor when it comes to media freedom, free speech and allowing for dissenting voices.

    “How do I convince you?” responded Kagame, who cited other reports from World Bank and Transparency International which gave Rwanda high marks for fighting corruption and public confidence in government. Which reports do you believe, he asked.

    Here are further excerpts from our conversation with Kagame:

    Q: {{Rwanda is one of the most densely populated countries on Earth. Is curbing population growth critical to its long-term success?}}

    {{PK}}: The population growth rate would have been even higher if we had not already taken certain measures. One of the ways we are addressing this is by investing more in the education of women … It takes a long time (to change).

    Q:{{ Many Rwandans are still desperately poor and living in isolated communities. How are you trying to reach out and help these people?}}

    {{PK}}: Again, that’s why we are investing in education. In Rwanda, 96 percent of children receive primary education. It’s the highest rate in Sub-Saharan Africa…. Our poorest of the poor, where are they? Where were they 10 years ago, and where are they today? (He noted that per capita annual income has tripled, from $200 to $600, in ten years with the goal of reaching $1,000 by 2020.)

    Q: {{Given the history of ethnic clashes in Rwanda which culminated in the 1994 genocide, how can you prevent another such conflict? It appears that most of the powerful positions in Rwanda are now held by Tutsis and that the majority of the population, Hutus, are not as well-represented in government.}}

    {{PK}}: The people of Rwanda, their psychology and politics have completely changed. Genocide did not happen by accident, you know…. I don’t want to be misunderstood. Our situation is not a mathematical thing, how many Hutus and how many Tutsis. It took 200 years to get a black president in the United States…. Here, it’s not about black or white, Hutus or Tutsis. That (kind of thinking) is where the problem starts.

    Q: {{Many in Rwanda are speculating about whether you might remain as president for a third term, rather than step down as you have promised. What do you say?}}

    {{PK}}: (chuckling) I have to answer this question all the time. I don’t want to spend the rest of my time in office answering this question. But seriously, I did not become president because it was something I was dying to be. I don’t want to be president-for-life. I don’t think I’m that stupid….

    Q:{{What do you think of the Arab Spring and the U.S. intervention in Libya?}}

    {{PK}}: I think the Arab Spring has lessons for all of us. For me, I am happy it is happening. People are having their say. You can’t suppress people for too long or it explodes in your face…. (On U.S. intervention in Libya) How could you not get involved? If the U.S. had not gotten involved, people would have turned around and blamed you for that.

    Q: {{Elaborate on how you see Rwanda serving as a financial or economic hub for all of East Africa.}}

    {{PK}}: All of what we are trying to do is in the context of East Africa. Rwanda is land-locked with not many natural resources. Our Vision 2020 is about investing in our people with the goal of providing high-value services. We are trying to distinguish ourselves and find a niche.

    Q: {{Rwanda receives a lot of foreign aid. Much of it comes with strings attached, with expectations and requirements from western donors. Is this causing problems?}}

    {{PK}}: There will always be strings attached to aid. That is why our goal is to become less dependent upon aid, to be free to be who we are rather than be dictated to…. Aid has made a huge difference in health, education and agriculture here. But we wish to wean ourselves off this.

    Q: {{You have a number of ambitious goals for Rwanda, many of them on track to be achieved. What is the most critical key to success, or the weakest link, in your strategy?}}

    {{PK}}: The most important thing is buy-in and ownership by Rwandans. If Rwandans are not owning the process … for me this is almost an obsession. Yes, finally, they must own it. This is key.

  • Health Minister Begins Special Twitter Sessions

    {{The Minister of Health, Dr. Agnes Binagwaho has started a special twitting session known as ‘Mondays with the Minister’, aimed at bringing her closer to a cross section of people to discuss any areas of interest within the health sector.}}

    This is also contained in a press release today

    Going by a hash tag, RwandaMinisterMondays, Dr. Binagwaho intends to use this platform to exchange ideas on a wide range of issues on advancing health care not only for Rwandans but across the world.

    “Twitter is a unique and interactive communication tool that can be instrumental in sharing experiences and best practices and advance different health concerns,” said Dr. Binagwaho.

    “I intend to find time, at least twice in a month from 1700hsr-1900hrs to discuss on a wide range of cross-cutting issues that are of interest to people especially within the promotion of Health.”

    Last Monday, the Minister twitted on Rwanda’s experience in promotion of family planning which the Rwandan government takes as essential for sustainable community development.

    Rwanda aims to have 70 percent uptake of family planning services by end of 2012.

    “With twitter, you are connected with experts, academics, partners and some many users and providers of health services or program managers—-all with great ideas that can help our local situation. This is why am dedicating two Mondays each month to discuss but also learn some great ideas on this platform,” the Minister said.

    {the Author is}
    {{Communications Officer}}
    {{RBC/Rwanda Health Communication Centre}}

  • Rwanda’s Growth Prospects Remain Favorable–WB

    {{Rwanda has demonstrated economic resilience, against global and regional economic turbulence,rising food and fuel prices, a drought in neighboring countries and the looming crisis in the Euro zone.}}

    This is according to today’s Rwanda Economic Update, published by the World Bank.

    “This resilience is a result of sound macroeconomic management in times when regional and global shocks are having adverse consequences for many neighboring countries” said Johannes Zutt, World Bank Country Director for Rwanda.

    The report, entitled Resilience in the Face of Economic Adversity: Policies for Growth with a Focus on Household Enterprises,predicts Rwanda’s 2011 growth at over 8%, a growth rate that is stronger than forecast for Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole.

    The report also notes that: Rwanda’s economic growth in the first half of 2011 was led by strong performance in the industrial and service sectors; inflation has so far been contained below 10 percent; and the exchange rate remains stable to date.

    Although agricultural growth in the first half of 2011 was weak as late rains resulted in a disappointing first planting season outcome, good rains since then as well as the Government of Rwanda’s concerted and continuing efforts to increase agricultural productivity, led to a successful second season harvest.

    “Rwanda’s growth outlook is robust, but remains contingent upon sustained prudent macroeconomic management, moderate global growth in 2012 and declining fuel and imported food prices, which will help improve Rwanda’s current account position and enhance growth prospects.”

    “We also expect to see an estimated 10.6% overall increase in food production in 2011, compared to 2010, and high agricultural and overall grow in the second half of 2011” said Birgit Hansl, World Bank Senior Economist.

    The Economic Update contains a preview of a forthcoming joint report of the World Bank and IPAR on Household Enterprises.

    The forthcoming report will conclude that Household Enterprises (HEs) are the source of livelihood for more than 30% of households, provide primary employment for 9% of the labour force and have grown rapidly over the last decade partly in response to the demand for additional services and goods generated by Rwanda’s growth and the relatively limited supply capacity of the formal sector.

    “Although HEs are usually not the main source of family income, they provide an important second income source, which in rural areas can help cushion shocks brought on by adverse weather conditions and temporary declines in agricultural production and in urban areas can complement formal wages, allowing for overall greater household consumption and investment” said Louise Fox, World Bank Lead Economist.

    The report will accordingly suggest that considering the significant contribution HEs have made and can make in the future to income and employment creation, the Government of Rwanda could broaden its policy framework to provide specific, targeted support for the HEs sector.

  • RwandaMotor To Supply Hyundai Cars

    {{The Kigali based car dealer company, RwandaMotor Ltd through another new company RwandaAuto Ltd, officially entered a distributorship deal that now allows the company to import and sell the worldwide standard and high quality of Hyundai products. }}

    According to the company’s Managing Director Hugues Lefebvre, RwandaMotors will now cope up with its mission as the leading distributor of cars in Rwanda.

    RwandaMotors has been dealing with different types of cars including Land Rover, Suzuki, and Afford.

    Among the state of the art’s Hyundai products, a new brand car named ‘Accent’ has been for the first time imported into the country with unique features and the unique character of sensing the owner before opening it.

  • BRD 3rd Best Development Bank in Africa

    {{The Association of African Development Finance Institutions (AADFI) has ranked Rwanda’s Development Bank (BRD) as third best development bank on the African continent with A+ rating.}}

    This was announced during the annual Forum of Africa Development in DRCongo.

    BRD comes third best among the 73 financial institutions in Africa. BRD is considered to have exceptional financial condition with little or no nonperforming standards and operating standards.

  • Good Governance critical to Green, Sustainable Economies—Kagame

    {{President Paul Kagame has urged developing nations to strengthen governance and institutional coordination by establishing regulatory frameworks ensuring benefits are equitably shared to achieve green and sustainable economies.}}

    While delivering a recorded video message at the Bonn 2011 Nexus conference running from November 16-18 in Bonn, Germany, President Kagame said:

    “It is important to engage women, civil society and the private sector. In developing countries, the involvement of women is particularly critical given that they produce up to 80% of food and provide 90% of water and fuel wood.”

    “We also need to educate our children and raise their awareness of the prudent use of water, energy, and land. This will result in better productivity and a more resilient environment for future generations”.

    President Kagame also underscored the significance of regional and international cooperation and foreign direct investment in ensuring coordinated use of resources.

    Kagame noted that besides job creation, capacity building and creating the necessary infrastructure, foreign direct aid brings with it innovative technologies that can be used for sustainable harvesting of water and harnessing energy resources as well as for sustainable farming for food security.

    “I believe the first solution lies in enhanced management of what we have and finding innovative ways of producing more with the limited resources. The modern technologies at our disposal provide the means to do this.”

    “What we need is the common understanding and political will to use them. At the level of policy formulation and implementation, we must adopt the nexus approach. It certainly creates synergies, and in our experience, facilitates more effective financial resource mobilization and allocation”.

    He told the conference that in Rwanda, environmental and resource-conscious economic development is promoted as an integral part of the national vision:

    “Within this context, we have created an environmental management authority, which among other things, ensures that an environmental and social impact assessment is carried out for every project before implementation.”

    “Also, district level development plans include environmental and resource protection actions. In fact, the performance contracts signed by District Mayors every year include preventing soil erosion and protecting marshlands; as well as access to clean water and electricity.”

    “They must incorporate energy efficient measures such as the use of biomass and promoting the use of biogas for domestic application; ecological sanitation, forest cover and others. To make these plans and systems work better, we plan to embed more modern and relevant techniques”.

    The primary objective of the Bonn2011 Nexus Conference is to bring together a broad range of stakeholders from the water, energy and food sectors in an effort to improve understanding of the interdependencies and develop a joint perspective on the common challenges.

    The conference will also showcase innovative solutions and help forge a common policy agenda to address the water, food and energy challenges.

    In attendance at the conference is Dr. Norbert Röttgen, Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety among other high ranking officials.

  • President of Congo To Visit Rwanda

    {{President Denis Sassou N’Guesso of the Republic of Congo is expected in Rwanda on Monday, 21 November for a three-day state visit.

    President Kagame is scheduled to hold talks with President Sassou N’Guesso and host him for a state banquet on Tuesday.}}

    During his visit to Rwanda, President Sassou N’Guesso is scheduled to tour socio-economic sites in Kigali and the surrounding areas. The two heads of state will hold a joint press conference on Wednesday at Urugwiro Village.

    Rwanda and Congo enjoy good and established relations, which were strengthened by the state visit by President Kagame to Brazzaville last November, during which he affirmed;

    “We in Rwanda want to see our two countries, and indeed the whole of Africa, develop, grow and prosper. I believe that sustained cooperation between Rwanda and Congo is crucial in order to succeed in that noble mission”.

    The growing relationship between Congo and Rwanda has been further facilitated by the recent launch of a twice-weekly flight from Kigali to Brazzaville by the national carrier, Rwandair.

    The upcoming state visit will be preceded by a meeting of the Rwanda-Congo Joint Permanent Commission, to be held on 21-22 November with consultations by senior officials on both sides, followed by a ministerial meeting chaired by the two Ministers of Foreign Affairs.

    The JPC will focus on upgrading the General Cooperation Agreement already re-negotiated last year, and MoUs in multiple sectors with special emphasis on trade, agriculture, natural resources and human settlement.

  • WB Launches Rwanda’s Economic Update Report

    {{Different economic and financial specialists from World Bank(WB) and government of Rwanda have converged in a meeting to launch the second edition of the Rwanda’s economic update.
    }}

    Comments about the findings from a number of stakeholders are emerging as the house hold enterprises report.

    In a press release by WB has indicated that Rwanda has had resilience economic adversity and her growth prospects remains favourable.

    “This resilience is a result of sound macroeconomic management in times when regional and global shocks are having adverse consequences for many neighbouring countries,” Johannes Zutt the world bank country Director for Rwanda.

    The report titled resilience in the face of economic adversity: policies for growth with a favor on household enterprise predicts Rwanda’s 2011 growth at over 8 percent a growth rate that is stronger than forecast for Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole.

    It also indicate that Rwanda’s economic growth in the first half of 2011 was led by strong performance in the industrial and service sectors.