Good progress has been made last month in improving Rwanda’s business climate, with investment projects worth about 6.5 billion francs being registered.

In the month of October, the One Stop Centre at the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) has registered a total of 6 investment projects worth Frw 6,661,832,932. They are expected to create a total of 300 jobs upon implementation.

Four of the projects deal with the hotels and restaurants sector and account for an investment of around Frw 3.8 billion. One investor will inject Frw 2.8 in mining, while another registered a packaging business with a value of Frw 210 million.

Meanwhile, RDB has also continued its efforts to promote exports. In October, the Rwanda Chapter Fair Trade Movement was launched to facilitate Rwandan exporters to access regional and global markets and help firms access larger markets. Also, being fair trade certified is a bonus since exporters can access international markets with better priced commodities.

In a bid to promote rural investment, the Rwanda Development Board met with stakeholders from the agriculture sector to discuss measures on how they can invest wisely to improve their community. Agriculture is a potential income-generating activity for over 70% of the people living in rural areas. Investment in this sector can reduce rural-urban migration, increase job creation and extend more services into the rural areas such as health and education.

Last but not least, RDB in partnership with the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) have initiated an e-regulations project that puts all regulations and procedures online. The first phase ending in December 2009 will focus on regulations for starting a company and immigration applications. The objective is to centralize all Rwandan regulations in one on-line platform.

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