Healthcare
Rwanda has made significant strides in improving its healthcare sector, but there is need for medical equipment and supplies, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare infrastructure development. U.S. companies can explore opportunities in telemedicine, medical training, and public-private partnerships to support the development of the healthcare sector.
Market Access
Rwanda has access to a regional market of 146 million consumers in the EAC and 460 million in COMESA. Rwanda’s previously easy access to the eastern DRC market of 3.5 million people is currently threatened by border tensions between the two countries, though most trade continues to flow. Rwanda is a founding member and an active negotiator to gradually implement the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), a market of 1.4 billion people.
ICT and Space Technologies
Rwanda is positioning itself as a leader in ICT innovation in the region, with KIC serving as a hub for tech startups and innovation. Adequate numbers of skilled IT professionals are still lacking, but the government hopes to make Rwanda a regional center for the training of ICT professionals and research. Carnegie Mellon University established a campus in Kigali in 2011 with a focus on this sector. The government installed over 5,000 kilometers of fiber optic cable throughout the country with links to neighboring countries making it one of few countries in Africa to have a national high-speed 4G LTE wireless broadband network. The Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) modified the wholesale monopoly license granted to Korea Telecom, which allows more operators to deploy 4G networks. The Rwandan Space Agency (RSA) moved aggressively over the past two years to establish partnerships with multiple U.S. space firms across a range of applications. There are several avenues for growth for the ICT sector, including e-commerce and e-services, mobile technologies, and applications development and automation, software, hardware, and other ICT solutions to support growth of the ICT and Space Technologies sectors.
Energy
The government has outlined a strategy to achieve universal access to electricity by 2024, supplied by a roughly even mix of on-grid and off-grid connections. While Rwanda’s independent power producer projects are expected to generate more power than projected demand over the next decade, there are opportunities for U.S. companies to invest in off-grid projects along with transmission and distribution.
Infrastructure
The government, in pursuit of its goal of positioning Rwanda as a regional hub for tourism, services, and logistics, has completed a number of high-profile infrastructure projects like the Kigali Convention Center and several international business class hotels. The government’s ambitious plans for future projects include a new international airport (Bugesera); Kigali Innovation City; tourist facilities; wastewater treatment and potable water facilities; informal settlement upgrade and property development; affordable housing; industrial park development; and road construction, rehabilitation, and maintenance.
Agriculture
Rwanda’s agriculture contributes 62.3 percent of total employment in Rwanda (occupying 71 percent of all females employed compared to 53 percent of males), but it contributes less than one-third of the country’s GDP. The government hopes to boost that figure through the addition of high-value horticultural processing (including coffee washing, roasting, and packaging), expansion of irrigation and mechanization, and increased production and processing of value-added agriculture goods (e.g., dairy, tomato ketchup, mushrooms, and honey). Rwanda also aims to move from subsistence crops to export oriented commercial farming.
Tourism
The government projects high tourism growth rates over the next several years as the country continues to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic. Opportunities exist in hospitality, entertainment, tour operations, and training services. Rwanda’s safe environment, central location (less than five hours from most African countries by air), increasing number of direct flights to multiple regional and international locations, the Kigali Convention Center, and a growing list of business class and luxury hotels make it a prime destination for business, event, and conference tourism in the region. To promote tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic, the government recently launched a push to expand domestic tourism by lowering prices.
Mining
The mining sector expanded since privatization in 2007. The Rwandan government has set ambitious targets for mineral exports over the next several years. Rwanda offers opportunities in exploration, extraction, and processing. Potential investors should note Rwanda is subject to Section 1502 of the U.S. Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Emerging technologies (especially electric vehicles) are dependent on the tin, tungsten, and tantalum (the 3Ts) Rwanda produces.
Education
Rwanda suffers from a shortage of skilled labor, including accountants, lawyers, engineers, tradespeople, and technicians. Accordingly, the government welcomes investment in high-quality education from the primary to university levels. In 2011, Carnegie Mellon University established a campus in Rwanda for Masters-level engineering students that will contribute to innovation on the continent.
Alternative Finance
Rwanda established the KIFC, an ecosystem that seeks to attract international financial service providers and funds to Rwanda. It is modeled on those available in advanced regional markets such as Mauritius, Marrakesh, and Johannesburg. A number of international firms have already joined or indicated intent to join.