Browsing: Rwanda

Rwanda’s debt rose to $5.4 billion last year from $4.8 billion in 2017, World Bank data shows.

Rwanda’s debt level this year is projected to rise to 49.1 per cent as a ratio of GDP, from 40.7 per cent last year.
According to the Ministry of Finance, much of the country’s debt is Long-term, with a repayment period of up to 40 years. Despite this, the biggest test for Rwanda’s debt burden is expected to come in 2023, when the repayment of its $400 million Eurobond will fall due.

The settlement is expected to put pressure on government coffers, even with Kigali having an option to issue another Eurobond to retire the maturing of the loan.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been pressing the government to improve its financial transparency and analyse fiscal risks to avoid surprises in the economy during the repayment period.

“So we want to look …

MTN Rwanda announced the launch of its “We’re Good Together” initiative, derived from the MTN Global Campaign that was launched earlier this month in South Africa.

The aim of the MTN campaign is to demonstrate how it has changed lives by improving digital access, empowering, driving financial inclusion,  enabling SMEs, creating jobs and broad community development, among other things.

 “MTN believes in creating shared value that enables shared prosperity, but we can’t do this on our own – we continue to seek out like-minded partners so that we can do good together. We see ourselves as a partner to the development of Rwanda, so whatever it is we do, we ensure it has a long-lasting impact in our society,” said Mitwa Ng’ambi, MTN Rwanda CEO while speaking about the company’s role in Rwanda

He said that the company seeks to tell its story that doing good business extends …

Rwanda’s Mara Group launched two smartphones describing them as the first “Made in Africa” models.

The two smartphones which are, Mara X and Mara Z will use Google’s Android operating system and cost 175,750 Rwandan francs ($190) and 120,250 Rwandan francs ($130) respectively.

They two will compete with Samsung, whose cheapest smartphone costs around $54 and non-branded phones at around $37. Ashish Thakkar Mara Group CEO said it was targeting customers who are willing to pay more for quality.

Mara Group is the first smartphone manufacturer in Africa giving a boost to Rwanda’s ambitions to become a regional technology hub.

Thakkar said that other companies assemble smartphones in Egypt, Ethiopia, Algeria and South Africa, but import the components but they are the first smartphone manufacturers in Africa.

He said that they are making the motherboards the sub-boards during the entire process. He also said that plant had …

Sub-Saharan African clothing and footwear market is worth $31 billion US dollars and growing. In a series of articles about the industry in Sub Sahara Africa, we will explore the policies, trade and the budding creative fashion industry in the region. This is the second part of the series where we focus on the raw material for the textile industry.

Read the previous series:  Africa Fashionomics: Making sense of the $31 Billion industry

Also:  Africa Fashionomics: Not enough materials to support a budding textile industry

And also: Africa Fashionomics: Business of Fashion in Africa led by Ethiopia

East African Community had one ambitious goal; to get rid of second-hand clothes in the region and shield their nascent textile industry from adverse effects of these clothes from U.S and Europe. The goal was already set and the countries would effect a hike on the duty charged on second-hand clothes. East African …

Kountable, a global trade and technology platform, has formed strategic partnerships with customs agencies in both Rwanda and Kenya.

This provides Kountable with a dedicated group of customs experts to assist in the timely processing and payment for imported goods in the region in addition to providing last-mile logistics so that goods can remain insured in that final stretch of the trade.

“The more parties we have who validate and participate in a transaction,” said Kountable CEO Chris Hale, “the more trust and transparency we bring to the network. We have gone through an extensive process to select these partners based on their professionalism and strength of their experience.”

Selected by an in-depth interview process and the recommendations of the Rwanda Revenue Authority’s (RRA’s) Risk Management Office and the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA’s) Commissioner, Customs and Excise Services Department, these custom agencies are certified, vetted and found to be …

UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) run and managed CDC, the mission is to support the building of businesses throughout Africa and South Asia, to create jobs, and to make a lasting difference to people’s lives in some of the world’s poorest places.

The public limited company has been working with various entities in the continent to develop structures for harnessing renewable energy in East Africa. This has been necessitated by the rising energy needs in the region as well as need for cleaner green energy worldwide.

In 2017, CDC invested in a joint venture alongside the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) and Industrial Promotion Services (IPS) to develop and finance power projects in sub-Saharan Africa, mobilizing project funding of over US$ 1billion.

The platform’s flagship development project is the creation of the 147 MW Ruzizi III hydropower project to be located in the Great Lakes region (Rwanda, …

Rwanda’s mobile industry has joined forces with the GSMA to drive mobile internet adoption and increase digital literacy in the country.

Local operators Airtel and MTN will commence a program of activity around digital inclusion as part of the GSMA’s We Care initiative in Rwanda. We Care is launched in collaboration with Rwanda’s Ministry of ICT and Innovation and the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA), supporting government efforts to boost ICT penetration and digital services across the country.

“I am glad to see the mobile operators, Airtel and MTN, coming together to work towards a common goal that will be beneficial to society,” said H.E Paula Ingabire, Minister of ICT & Innovation of Rwanda.

“Smartphones are important ICT tools that can be used to access key digital services: education and information, healthcare, financial services, amongst others. Increasing digital inclusion in Rwanda will, therefore, go a long way in empowering our …

Every plastic bag, paying little heed to thickness, will be restricted from being imported, sent out, made, sold, put away, or provided for use in Tanzania.

Visitors to East Africa’s most populous nation, nearly 57 million, have been told to expel plastic bags from their baggage before traveling.

WWF Nation Executive Dr. Amani Ngusaru has complimented the administration for venturing up the battle against plastic contamination in the nation. He said WWF Tanzania is inspired with the Tanzania government’s choice to boycott the utilization of plastic bags.

“Plastic is a number one polluter of environment and a silent killer of our natural environment and resources than most people understand. This is because it takes more than a hundred years for a single plastic bag to decay. We are happy that Tanzania is among the very few African countries to ban the use of plastic bags and we will work hard …

By 2035, Africa which has one of the youngest populations in the world will have the largest workforce in the world.…

As part of the country’s National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB)’s strategies to produce quantity and quality coffee, Rwanda aims at planting 34,000 new coffee trees by the year 2024.…