The Singapore
Business Federation (SBF) Tuesday, August 25, conducted a Rwanda-focused
webinar to explore business opportunities in Rwanda, attracting
business leaders and top executives from both sides.
The virtual conference attracted over 40 Singaporean firms and more than 190 viewers via a live broadcast on Facebook.
The federation
provided an overview of the Rwandan economy, as well as business and
investment opportunities for the Singaporean business community.
Organised as part
of the Global Connect, an initiative of SBF, the webinar intended to
scale up SBF's capabilities beyond Singapore.
SBF Africa Business
Group Vice Chairman Neal Chandaria expressed optimism in the new
platform, saying it will benefit the "Singaporean business community as
well as friends around the world who are interested in learning about
the latest developments and opportunities in Rwanda."
The event was
graced by Rwanda's High Commissioner to Singapore Amb. Jean de Dieu
Uwihanganye and Rwanda Development Board (RDB) chief executive Clare
Akamanzi.
"We hope it [Global
Connect] is going to be another platform where companies in Singapore
will find their trading partners and investment opportunities in
Rwanda," Amb. Uwihanganye noted.
As the High
Commission of Rwanda in Singapore, he added, "We welcome all of you with
interest in Rwanda and shall do all best to facilitate both trade and
investment."
Rwanda and
Singapore have signed several bilateral cooperation pacts including in
aviation, investment, and public service management.
According to recent
figures, Rwanda's exports to Singapore are valued at $31 million while
Singaporean exports to Rwanda amount to $5 million.
Total investments by the Asian state in Rwanda amounted to $145 million in 2018.
Akamanzi noted that both countries draw a lot of economic inspirations from each other.
"The Government of
Rwanda, just like Singapore, very much prioritizes economic development
and improvement in the standards of living of its people," she said.
"We are committed
to private sector growth, accelerating economic growth and poverty
reduction, and are committed to an excellent business environment that
makes the Private Sector Federation and those who do business in Rwanda
very competitive."
Speaking of
investment opportunities, Akamanzi cited Visit Rwanda, Made-In-Rwanda,
and Start-In-Rwanda as three major areas foreign investors can tap into.
Through Visit
Rwanda, which has partnerships with two global football giants (Arsenal
and PSG), the RDB boss said the country seeks to lift its tourism to a
recognised global brand.
"It is no wonder
that over the last five years, with all the infrastructure we have put
in place, Rwanda is ranked the third country that has received the most
conferences and events in Africa," she said.
"With
Start-In-Rwanda, Rwanda is a place where people can come and start their
business, develop their products and once they are successful here,
they can expand to the rest of Africa. That is already happening in many
ways," Akamanzi observed.
Faustin Karasira,
the Chief Operations Officer at Rwanda's Private Sector Federation
(PSF), noted that the 'Global Connect' platform "comes as one of the
easy ways to enhance our working relationship", hence setting a
conducive stage for businesses from both Singapore and Rwanda."
No comments :
Post a Comment