Business

Soraya Hakuziyaremye, the Minister of Trade and Industry, admires gold being processed at the new refinery in Kigali, June 19. Rwanda and its neighbors are convening in Kigali this week to set up a platform where officials hope to convince the world that minerals coming from this region are legitimate.…

President Paul Kagame chats with Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé at the 10th BRICS Leaders’ Summit, Johannesburg, July 27, 2018 In November 2013, a high-level Togolese government delegation arrived in Rwanda. This trip marked the start of a reform agenda, which the World Bank said yesterday has made it with the…

2nd Vice President Joseph Butore leaves Bujumbura on Monday for the Sochi Summit Burundi has joined a new club of countries using Russian software to manage government operations – away from the dominance of the west. Russian firm Cloud Technologies, in a deal signed Wednesday in Sochi, on the sidelines…

At Bus Stops, such long lines are a familiar sight A phone Application is in the works to bring order to Kigali’s bus service – which the authorities have praised for years, yet those using it daily remain skeptical. There are hundreds of buses serving the different suburbs – all…

The mood at an RDB tourism office in Kinigi where tourists start gorilla trekking. The RDB CEO Clare Akamanzi (2nd Left) and Northern Province Governor Jean Marie Vianney Gatabazi (male in light blue shirt) were there this Wednesday to reassure tourists of the area’s security Around 8pm Michel Hugues, Sabyinyo…

A woman working in her rice field in Bugarama marshlands in Rusizi district – the region producing more than others in Rwanda. In the quest to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth in Africa, the equal contributions of women and men are crucial, the World Bank said Wednesday. Africa…

Rwanda has RwandAir, Tanzania got its Air Tanzania, Kenya has Kenya Airways, and Uganda with its Uganda Airlines. The Ugandan delegation to the regional parliament has informed the House that it will table a motion for the reestablishment of the East African Airlines. Taking turns in a session on Thursday,…

Rwanda already has its own vigorous campaign promoting local produce The East African region has adopted a specific day of every week when everyone has to wear what is produced locally. Trade ministers of the bloc meeting this September 19 at its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania, declared Fridays as ‘Afrika…

Public Service and Labour Minister Fanfan Rwanyindo Kayirangwa appearing in parliament at different previous session Parliament is considering an amendment to the public service law in which government wants to do away with a decades-old system limiting its ability to hire people with rare skills. Public Service and Labour Minister…

Inside the Kigali Arena on opening day (Photo by Kigali Today) The construction of the magnificent Kigali Arena, whose cost has not been officially disclosed, is $104 (Rwf 95.6 billion). A December 2018 report by consulting firm Exotix Capital LLP for Turkish contractor Summa details how the Kigali Arena came…

Inside a production of one of the firms located in the Kigali Special Economic Zone The number of firms in Rwanda exporting more than $1m has grown over the years, but remains low – and has recently been impacted heavily by Conflict in Burundi and DR Congo, reports a new…

Central Bank Governor John Rwangombwa speaking after the MPC meeting in May, as his deputy Dr Monique Nsanzabaganwa looks on The National Bank of Rwanda has maintained its lending rate at 5%, a policy move designed to encourage commercial banks to continue lending to private businesses. The central bank’s said…

President Paul Kagame questions officials in Burera district during his visit on May 8 Remember a milk factory in Burera district over which various officials struggled to explain to President Paul Kagame why it was not operating despite millions invested? Here is part of its story. On May 8, Kagame…

Delegates inside the 42nd meet of the African Association of Central Banks taking place at the Kigali International Conference Center Rwanda’s debt remains relatively low against the regional threshold of 50 percent, Central Bank governors from the regional bloc heard in Kigali. Rwanda is hosting the African Association of Central…

President John Pombe Magufuli receives President Kagame in Dar es Salaam last May Rwanda this week put the final seal on the bilateral agreement with Tanzania that details a mechanism for the construction of the 532Km Standard Gauge Railway Project – which will be Rwanda’s first railway line. On July…

Cattle in Rwanda are such an important item to own Some 158 cattle will this Friday July 25, be auctioned off by Kayonza district authorities for grazing on land owned by RDF – leaving more local villagers counting losses from the same region. Cattle owners in three neighbouring districts of…

Volkeswagen cars that operate “Move Ride” service. These and other brands made in Rwanda will pay no Excise Duty A bill amending the excise duty regime presented to Parliament yesterday by Finance and Economic Planning Minister Dr Uzziel Ndagijimana will make Volkeswagen cars cheaper. Clients buying vehicles made in Rwanda…

Finance Economic Planning Minister Dr Uzziel Ndagijimana at Parliament last month to present the 2019-2020 budget Rwanda has allocated nearly as much money for agriculture as it has for repaying debts. In the budget read mid last month, Finance and Economic Planning Minister Dr Uzziel Ndagijimana set aside Rwf 128.5billion…

Soraya Hakuziyaremye, the Minister of Trade and Industry, admires gold being processed at the new refinery in Kigali, June 19. The airports in Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi are the only route for gold smuggled out of DR congo to reach international markets in the middle east, says a UN Group…

A worker tries to retrieve whatever he could from the intense fire on Saturday evening Members of two cooperatives are counting huge losses after a fire, for the second time, gutted their timber businesses – leaving them with nothing. Gisozi Agakiriro, is one of the business centers dotted across Rwanda,…

President Paul Kagame (R) meets with Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde on the sidelines of the World Bank/IMF annual meeting in Washington, October 3, 2017 The International Monetary Fund yesterday approved Rwanda as latest member of its so called “Policy Coordination Instrument (PCI). The new tool to support governments in…

Multi-million dollar Peat power plant under construction in rural Gisagara district, southern Rwanda to produce 80MW. It is expected to be complete in March next year at a cost of Rwf 289 billion Companies in Rwanda said they incurred the least losses of business whenever power went off, says a…

Part of Kigali city skyline in the CBD. The last national census in 2012 found Kigali’s population at slightly above 1m. Next year, the city will have more than 1.9m people. As more commercial buildings rise over the Kigali skyline, new research shows that many of them especially those in…

Katharina Borchert, the Chief Innovation Officer of Mozilla Corporation Katharina Borchert, the Chief Innovation Officer of Mozilla Corporation, the firm behind Firefox web browser, was in Rwanda for the 2019 Transform Africa Summit. She also toured the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Rwanda Centre (AIMS). Widely considered one of the…

The new rates as announced by RURA Cab drivers in Kigali are breathing a sigh of relief following government decision allowing them to charge more for their services. The Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) has reacted to months of outcry from cab drivers all of whom operate under only two…

As Nigeria continues to drag its feet to ratify the African Continental Free Trade Agreement or ACFTA, its unclear stance keeps attracting critical news headlines. The latest has the African Development Bank struggling to distance itself from critical comments about Africa’s largest economy which were attributed to its senior official.…

Finance and Economic Planning Minister Dr Uzziel Ndagijimana In 2019-2020 budget unveiled Thursday by Finance and Economic Planning Minister Dr Uzziel Ndagijimana, he completely removed customs duty on sugar and significantly cut other taxes on specific imports from outside EAC. Ndagijimana told parliament that the measures are meant to reduce…

Innocent Muhizi, RISA’s Chief Executive Officer One of the agencies which Parliament said had not spent a single cent of its 2018-2019 budget, calls parliaments numbers a “misinterpretation”. The Rwanda Information Society Authority (RISA) wrote an official response to The Chronicles‘ story of May 29 saying its budget was executed…

The Rubavu Cross-Border Market completed in March is a magnificent facility. A tour however shows there is no business taking place there. Today, there are a handful of people operating stalls in the market. Some traders say they go without sales for entire day. The market features 160 stalls, 17…

On Monday, pan-African finance institution Shelter Afrique unveiled a $50m project to construct 3,000 houses in two Kigali suburbs of Nyamirambo and Rebero A vigorous campaign to avail what are described as “affordable” houses for low income earners at cost of less than Rwf17m is taking longer to yield results…