INVEST IN RWANDA

AMBASSADOR: Rwanda and China enjoy decades of warm and friendly relations which have been growing from strength to strength since their establishment 51 years ago. Our excellent relations are reflected in many areas of cooperation including investment, trade, education, tourism, technology, infrastructure, agriculture and health among others.

In recent years there has been high level exchange of state visits between President Xi Jinping and President Paul Kagame and other senior government officials. Our bilateral relationship is built on the commitment of our two countries to work together on improving the livelihoods of the two peoples through win-win cooperation.

In terms of economic cooperation, China is one of Rwanda's largest trading partners and a major source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). In 2021, Rwanda registered Chinese investments worth USD 357 million. The registered investments are in different sectors including manufacturing, real estate and construction, textile, mining and tourism among others. In spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are seeing positive signs in bilateral trade, with increased volumes of exports and imports between the two countries. In 2021, trade volume between the two countries reached USD 306 million, and the main exports from Rwanda to China were mineral products and agricultural products like coffee, chilli and tea. 

AMBASSADOR: The Government of Rwanda has undertaken a series of comprehensive reforms which led the country to be among the top in ease of doing business. Rwanda elaborated practical strategic blueprints and effective execution plans with systems to measure progress. According to the World Bank’s Doing Business Report, Rwanda is number one in East Africa and number two in Africa which has increased FDI and exports. You can actually register a business in six hours, property and tax declaration can be done online. Capital repatriation is permissible. Generally, the new investment code provides the list of attractive incentives ranging from zero percent corporate income tax depending on the size of investment. Rwanda is also ranked among the top safest and least corrupt countries in the world which is an important element in attracting investments.

In terms of market size, investing in Rwanda gives you access to African and global markets through robust free trade agreements. The East African Community Free Trade Agreement gives you access to a market of more than 300 million people and with the African Continental Free Trade Agreement you can get access to the whole African market of 1.3 billion people. In addition, the incentives provided under the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) coupled with other agreements signed between our two countries, allow ease access to the Chinese market for Made in Rwanda products. Currently, the Government of China grants duty-free treatment for imported goods originating from Rwanda that covers 98% of tariff lines. This is a very good opportunity for Chinese companies that have invested in Rwanda seeking to export their products to China. 

AMBASSADOR: Over the last 10 years (since 2012) Rwanda has registered more than 160 Chinese FDI projects worth about USD 1.4 billion. Currently we have more than 900 Chinese companies doing business in Rwanda in various sectors including manufacturing, processing, real estate, mining and tourism among others. 

AMBASSADOR: Being a developing country, Rwanda presents several FDI opportunities in sectors including: manufacturing, infrastructure, energy distribution and transmission, finance, fintech, off-grid energy, agriculture and agro-processing, affordable housing, tourism services, and information and communications technology (ICT).  Rwanda has a vision to build a knowledge-based technology-driven economy, and to accelerate this, the Government has invested in developing ICT infrastructure to enable service delivery. Currently, the Government is investing in Kigali Innovation City (KIC) - a smart and green innovation hub to nurture and accelerate the tech and innovation ecosystem. KIC will be a mixture of many projects supporting the cluster of educational institutions, local and international corporations, startups and innovation companies. We welcome Chinese enterprises to invest in this project and work with us to build a Smart Rwanda. 

AMBASSADOR: The government of Rwanda through its agency, Rwanda Development Board provides daily services to investors in the country and to foreigners through Rwandan diplomatic missions around the world. 

Promoting investments and facilitating Chinese investors is the core business of our Embassy in Beijing. We conduct online and offline investment promotion events, we organize roadshows and participate in major exhibitions across China, introducing to potential investors various opportunities our country has to offer.