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As the National Harvest Day was being celebrated over the weekend, Rwandans in Sacramento, California, USA also marked the day on Saturday, August 26th, 2017.

Umuganura is a traditional feast of the first harvest that was widely observed in ancient Rwanda, a celebration that is resurfacing in Rwanda’s customs today. The goal for this celebration was to assess the harvest and encourage social cohesion in communities through hard work.

This year’s Umuganura festivities were held under the theme “Umuganura, a source of unity and foundation of self-reliance.”

During the celebrations in Sacramento, California, H.E. Ambassador MathildeMukantabana explained the historical context of Umuganura and talked about its significance in Rwanda’s nation building, unity, and reconciliation. “Umuganura goes beyond economic aspiration, it is also a moment to reflect on what we have to invest as Rwandans in our daily lives, to ensure that we are a dignified people, striving to always be better today than we were yesterday,” said Ambassador Mukantabana.

In a symbolic gesture, Ambassador Mukantabana and the Sacramento community leader YehoyadaMbangukira gave milk to children and shared traditional Rwandan foods with those present. In true Rwandan fashion, the evening was also graced with traditional music and poetry.

President Paul Kagame has said that harnessing the full potential of the tourism industry will require continued focus as well as investments on several fronts.

The Head of State made the remarks this morning as he gave a key-note address during the official opening of the 41st Annual World Tourism Conference that opened August 28, running up to 31st , 2017 at Kigali Convention Centre.

Hosted by the Africa Travel Association (ATA), a division of the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), and the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), the conference is aimed at highlighting the economic and job opportunities being fuelled by the sector’s continued growth and job creation through innovative business models, new technologies, and strategic partnerships.

The conference is also expected to provide a platform to network and explore new tourism markets and products including the promotion and preservation of Africa’s rich cultural heritage and wildlife.

In his speech, Kagame said that Rwanda, like other countries on the African continent, is keen to convert the favorable demographics into economic growth and prosperity. Services sector, tourism in particular, provides some of the best opportunities for young people.

Kagame pointed out that; “tourism sector is Rwanda’s biggest foreign exchange earner, but we can and should do better; harnessing the full potential of the tourism industry will require continued focus on investment on several fronts.”

One way of doing that, the President said, is to strengthen good governance which enables effective management of the environment that supports tourist attractions and revenue y generation. Rwandans, especially those living around parks and other attractions, have become indispensable to conservation.

“The responsibility of government players in the industry is to continuously provide quality education and professional training. We are investing heavily in services and infrastructure to support the development of the sector. Our national carrier, RwandAir, continues to expand to destinations within Africa and beyond.”

This year is the first time ATA’s Tourism Conference is hosted in Rwanda, one of East Africa’s premier tourism destinations and one whose sector continues to grow.
According to the RDB, Rwanda’s tourism sector generated US$303 million in revenue,
in 2014 up three percent in the previous year.

Kagame explained that Rwanda will soon have a more modern, efficient base when the new airport in Bugesera is completed to strengthen collaboration within the region and across the continent.

President Kagame noted, “The single tourist visa and passport-free travel with Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda is already a reality. We need more cooperation on the continent to increase the numbers of visitors, facilitate trade and investment within Africa.”
In less than 15 years Africa’s travel and hospitality industries have quadrupled in size, and the continent remains one of the world’s fastest-growing tourist destinations, second only to Southeast Asia.

President and CEO of the Corporate Council of Africa, Florizelle Liser, says CCA aims to use the conference to encourage investments and policies that contribute to the sector’s growth.

On the sidelines of what was a packed agenda, ATA together with Facebook worked to deliver training to SMEs in Kigali.

The ‘Boost Your Business’ is a training initiative, developed by Facebook and facilitated by Digify Africa, designed to train and up-skill small business owners on how to leverage digital tools to grow their businesses. The training was held on August 26 at the Kigali Serena Hotel.

The tourism conference also aligns with Kwita Izina, Rwanda’s annual gorilla naming ceremony, a national celebration creating awareness of the country’s efforts to protect the jewel of Rwanda’s tourism crown: the mountain gorillas and their habit.

The Minister of Trade, Industry, and East African Affairs, Francois Kanimba, has appealed to the youth to take a tough stance towards conserving biodiversity to enable Rwandans sustainably benefit from the opportunities and wealth presented by natural resources.

The Minister made the appeal over the weekend during the official opening of two-day conservation activities in honour of the 13th Kwita Izina that include Conservation and Tourism exhibition at Kigali Conference and Exhibition Village.

The exhibition, held for the second time, was aimed at showcasing Rwanda’s achievements in conservation interventions and tourism related products and services.
It is also meant to serve as a trading platform for B2B and other networking opportunities specifically for tourism operations. It attracted youth, as well as other official from Ugandan, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya and Ethiopia among other countries
It is among the preliminary activities taking place before Kwita Izina scheduled for 1st September 2017 in Musanze district.

Kanimba said that the government of Rwanda allocates resources for conservation and called upon everyone to play a role in making conservation a success.
He said; “This activity organized before Kwita Izina helps partners in Rwanda and the region to meet in one place and show their activities. It enables them to exchange ideas, experiences, best practices and the best way forward. ”

Kanimba noted that the development of tourism must base on caring for the basic foundational infrastructures.

“During this Show, we have received different people including the person who constructed a boat which can be used on lake Kivu, we have examples of the former poachers, who have subsequently formed a cooperative society to become bee farmers and other jobs.”

The Ethiopian Minister of culture and tourism, Dr. Hirut Weldemariam told IGIHE that they have participated in the show to learn from Rwanda’s development in the sector of Tourism.

She said; “I Participated in this show as a way of increasing my knowledge, regarding the way Rwanda conserves biodiversity and its beauty in order to attract many tourists while developing the society in general.”

With less than three days to this year’s Kwita Izina ceremony, Rwanda Development Board on Saturday hosted ‘KwitaIzina’ Gala Dinner at Kigali Convention Centre to raise funds for Gorilla conservation efforts ahead of the 13th Gorilla naming event due on September 1 in Musanze District.

Attended by government officials, diplomats, conservationists and private individuals, over 500 tickets were sold for the ‘Gala Dinner’ with each ticket costing $120 (estimated Rwf 101,194), while ten guests paid over $1,000 (Rwf 843,284).

The night of dinner and wine, also included a spectacular music performance from local artist Ben.

The night also involved a successfully bidding action for Rwandair tickets to the UK, where the best two bidders accepted to pay $2,500 to $4,000 to spend a night in Bisate and Songa Lodge respectively.

BeliseKaliza, head of RDB-Tourism said the fundraising is meant to support conservation efforts in the country. “The target is not business oriented but to raise funds to support mountain gorilla conservation efforts and other related projects.”

This was the second edition of the ‘KwitaIzina’ Gala Dinner. Last year RDB raised funds for three projects; Imisambi Sanctuary ($101,000), Mountain Gorilla Skeletal Project ($180,000) and Community Eco-Lodge ($250,000).

A delegation of 25 entrepreneurs from Indian is in Rwanda as part of a program to streamline the cooperation between the two countries.

The 25 Indian entrepreneurs from different commercial sectors are expected to hold discussions and exchange knowledge in the field of technology with local entrepreneurs.

In February this year, India’s Vice President Hamid Ansari held talks with President Paul Kagame on different issues, including trade and promoting health sector.

During that time, a cooperation, India-Rwanda Innovation Growth Programme (IRIGP) was agreed upon between the two countries in the field of science and technology where India, and Rwanda’s National Industrial Research Development Agency (NIRDA), will coordinate the working relationship between the two sides. The delegation has already held discussions and exchanged knowledge in the field of technology with local entrepreneurs.

The Indian entrepreneurs have expressed willingness to play a role in the promotion of trade and investments in Rwanda, noted Munish Gupta, the advisor of IRIGP program.

He said, “The most important thing is the fact that both governments of India and Rwanda have the will to cooperate in the field of creating employment opportunities, opening companies in Rwanda and promoting the national economies.”

It is expected that the Indians will participate in the ongoing Trade show, taking place at Gikondo Expo ground from August 22nd- 6th September 2017.

Through this cooperation, it is anticipated that some of the Rwandan entrepreneurs will make a study tour in India, with the objective of promoting the culture of innovation and improving knowledge through applying modern technology.

The Rwanda Development Board Chief Executive Officer , Clare Akamanzi, said that India is experienced in vital sectors that are important in enhancing development including agro-processing industries, pharmaceuticals and computer science among others.

This delegation has so far visited different institutions including Rwanda Development Board (RDB), Private Sector Federation (PSF), National Industrial Research Development Agency (NIRDA), Indian Embassy in Rwanda and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and East African Community Affairs.

Between 2011-2016, Indians invested US$317millions in 66 projects, including Airtel, Zinc Hotel and Mahatma Gandhi University besides, Gisovu Tea Factory, Imana Steel, Sahasra and electronic Pvt Ltd among others.

Thousands of Rwandans on Sunday celebrated the National Harvest Day commonly known as Umuganura with a focus on encouraging Rwandans to work harder to eradicate poverty and hunger.

The annual event is celebrated beginning August 4th but for this year it was extended over the weekend not to coincide with other major events like the Presidential elections.
Umuganura is a traditional feast of the first harvest that was widely observed in ancient Rwanda.

The harvest day is the first-fruit festival and one of Rwanda’s ancient royal rituals.

The celebrations of Umuganura were held in Nyanza District, Southern Province and attracted hundreds of people including Rwandan government officials and the private sector and citizens.

This year’s event was observed under the theme: “Umuganura, a foundation of unity and self-reliance.”

Speaking at the celebrations, Julienne Uwacu, Rwanda’s minister of sports and culture, said the event has evolved to become a national festival to celebrate the country’s achievements in social and economic development.

“This day gives Rwandans an opportunity to reflect on what has been achieved and focus on what needs to be done to find a lasting solution towards addressing malnutrition, poverty, and hunger in the country,” she added.

According to 2014 Integrated Household Living Conditions Survey (EICV) conducted by the National Institute of Statistics, poverty in Rwanda reduced from 60 per cent in 2000 to 39 per cent in 2014.

Rwanda targets to reduce poverty to 20 per cent and extreme poverty to zero per cent from the current 16 per cent by 2020, according to the ministry of finance and economic planning.

This year’s Umuganura celebration also was combined with President Paul Kagame’s’ landslide victory during the August 4th Presidential elections where most Rwandan voted for Kagame for another third term in office.

Minister Uwacu also noted that the celebration is an advantage this year because it has occurred when Rwandans are jubilating President Kagame’s victory during the elections.