President Kagame: Africa is ripe for investment

President Paul Kagame has urged global business community to extend investment portfolio to Africa and particularly Rwanda.

 Kagame was speaking during the G20 Compact with Africa (CwA) Investment Summit bringing together German businesses and CwA countries to discuss ways to strengthen economic ties, at the Haus der Deutschen Wirtschaft, Berlin.

President Kagame arrived in Berlin, Germany on Monday, where he joined other African leaders for the G20 Compact with Africa Investment Summit.

Launched in 2017, the G20 Compact with Africa (CwA) was initiated under the German G20 Presidency to promote private investment in Africa, including in infrastructure.

Twelve African nations have so far joined the initiative and besides Rwanda, others are; Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Morocco, Senegal, Togo and Tunisia.

“I just wanted to thank Chancellor Angela Merkel’s leadership and the government and people of Germany for taking this lead, in the context of G20, to bring together the business community for investment and other businesses,” President Kagame said.

The head of state gave an example of the partnership Rwanda has had with German carmaker VolksWwage (VW), with Siemens now coming in and SAP to launch first-ever electric car mobility in Africa, saying that this; “demonstrates the competitiveness of our economies and the reforms that have been happening in the ease of doing business.

 “This really showcases how Africa is ripe for business and investment, and how far we can go. This is delivering the practicalities of that and we want to be seeing more from Germany, Europe, G20 in this partnership.” Kagame added.

President Kagame also told German investors that; “Rwanda is a small country but with big ambitions. So you are most welcome,”

While Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) continue to fall, Africa continues to enjoy a growing number of them.

Statistics show that in 2018, Africa recorded a growth of nearly 11 per cent valued at USD46 billion.