Rwanda Invites Egyptian Investors: Fast-Track Opportunities and Incentives for Business Growth

By: Marwa Tawfik, Ahram Online

The Rwanda Development Board (RDB) is encouraging Egyptian investors to capitalise on the country’s investment opportunities and incentives.

Jean-Guy Afrika, CEO of the RDB, stated that foreign investors can register companies and commence operations in less than six hours.

Speaking to Al-Ahram, Afrika highlighted customs exemptions for both countries, which are members of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

He added that Rwanda provides all necessary information for investors through its website in various sectors, allowing them to establish their companies and operate through a single window without complications or bureaucracy. This has earned Rwanda the ranking of best business environment in Africa by the World Bank.

Afrika noted that the RDB’s website provides all the necessary information for investors, allowing them to establish and operate their companies through a single window without bureaucratic hurdles.

This has led the World Bank to rank Rwanda as having Africa’s best business environment, he added.

He also highlighted several key sectors for cooperation with Egypt, including agriculture, agro-processing, mining, pharmaceuticals, construction, hospitality, and healthcare.

Afrika said Rwanda has allocated land for Egypt to build a logistics zone, ensuring a permanent presence for Egyptian goods in the East African country.

Egypt, in a reciprocal move, has also granted similar land to Rwandan businesspeople in Safaga City for the same purpose.

The RDB chief executive said the move would help overcome high shipping costs, a key challenge for landlocked countries like Rwanda.

He noted that Egyptian products would not be limited to Rwanda but could reach the entire East African market of 300 million people, adding that Rwanda also sees Egypt as a gateway to the Middle East and the Gulf.

Afrika has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the chairman of the General Authority for Investment in Cairo to exchange information on trade and investment between the two countries.

The current trade volume stands at $48.9 million.

Afrika credited good governance and disciplined national planning for Rwanda’s sustained growth rate of over 8 percent in the past two decades.

He added that the country aims to become a high-income nation by 2050, with a per capita income of $13,000.

“The government is working tirelessly to achieve this goal,” he pointed out.