CHOGM: Rwanda to use business forum to promote financial hub | The new times

Rwanda hopes to use the upcoming Commonwealth Business Forum (CBF) to promote the Kigali International Financial Center (KIFC) to the world.

The forum is one of the events organized on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

Established in 2020, KIFC aims to position Rwanda as an international financial destination for investors seeking opportunities on the African continent.

Speaking at a Twitter space held on Thursday to discuss the expected outcomes of the forum which will attract over 1,000 business leaders, Clare Akamanzi, CEO of Rwanda Development Board (RDB), said KIFC will be one major discussions of Rwanda as a country. seeks to attract more international financial services.

“We are working with Rwanda Finance Limited to ensure that Rwanda’s presence as an international financial center is clearly launched there,” she said.

Rwanda Finance Limited (RFL) is a government owned company responsible for developing and promoting KIFC.

Akamanzi added that she expects members who come to the business forum summit to know more about KIFC, which will be important in making the center attractive for international financial services.

“And we expect some of the funds we work with to showcase their work within the framework of the international financial center,” she noted.

Rwanda has the ambition to become a financial hub by 2024 as outlined in the National Transformation Strategy (NST1).

KIFC has already attracted a number of high profile companies, investors and service providers and is already a member of the World Alliance of International Financial Centers (WAIFC), as well as an associated center in the Global Financial Centers (GFCI).

In September last year, KIFC made its debut in the Global Financial Centers Index (GFCI), a renowned ranking on the competitiveness of financial centers around the world.

The index assesses 116 financial centers around the world by combining assessments of financial professionals with quantitative data that constitute instrumental factors.

The ranking takes into context five main areas of competitiveness: business environment, human capital, infrastructure, financial sector development and reputation.

In the ranking, Kigali was ranked 5th on the continent after Casablanca, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Mauritius and ahead of Nairobi and Lagos.

Meanwhile, Akamanzi also noted that Rwanda will come forward for partnerships with young people with ideas who are looking for places and partners to work with, “as it has done in the past.”

Scheduled for June 20-25, the CHOGM summit is expected to see Rwanda host more than 5,000 delegates from the 54 Commonwealth member countries.

The meeting will also host more than 30 heads of state who have confirmed their attendance, senior government officials, businessmen and scholars, among others.

Speaking at the same online event, Rosie Glazebrook, CEO of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council, spoke about the importance of building business relationships at the forum in terms of trade and investment.

“The Commonwealth shares historical ties and I would also like to rely on similar legal and administrative systems. Obviously, the common language, and what we call the Commonwealth Advantage, which makes trade across the Commonwealth 21% cheaper and that boosts investment in Commonwealth countries by up to 27%,” a- she declared.

hkuteesa@newtimesrwanda.com