Honorable Uzziel Ndagijimana, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Republic of Rwanda and Honorable Franz Fayot, Minister of Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg on October 19, 2021, signed a bilateral cooperation agreement on the sidelines of Africa Microfinance Week, the largest inclusive finance conference in Africa.
The signing parties will work together with the aim to support Rwanda in further developing the Kigali International Financial Centre (KIFC), ranked 5th in Africa by the Global Financial Centre Index, considering the universally recognized expertise of Luxembourg’s financial ecosystem.
Minister Ndagijimana said: “Four years ago the Government of Rwanda established the Kigali International Financial Centre to increase the value addition of the financial services in the Rwandan economy and to make Rwanda an attractive investment destination, with opportunities to expand investments from Rwanda to Africa and beyond”.
“The partnership milestone that we’ve just signed will support our ambition of becoming a preferred Pan-African International Financial Centre which is in line with our aspiration of becoming a middle-income country by 2035 and a high-income country by 2050”.
The Luxembourgish Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, Franz Fayot pointed out: “This signing of this memorandum begins a new chapter in our relations. Rwanda’s interest in sustainable finance and fintech reflects our priorities too. It is important that we build together and channel more finance in development cooperation, combating climate change and other areas that require financing”.
The implementing agencies are Rwanda Finance Limited, the agency tasked with developing Kigali International Financial Centre and Lux-Development S.A., Luxembourg’s development cooperation agency.
Strategic areas of cooperation are defined within the agreement, and these are: capacity building and talent development; development of sustainable finance in Rwanda; enabling a fintech ecosystem in Rwanda; and setting up a marketplace for impact investing in Rwanda.
Nick Barigye, CEO of Rwanda Finance Limited (RFL), the agency mandated to promote the KIFC noted: “Becoming a preferred centre for international investments in Africa requires strategic partnerships and today we welcome the opportunity to draw on the expertise of Luxembourg’s financial ecosystem, to further develop Kigali International Financial Centre’s niche areas in sustainable finance and fintech. Upskilling financial sector professionals to efficiently serve global investors and financial institutions is a key feature of an attractive financial services hub and one of the pillars KIFC is looking to strengthen, through our cooperation with Luxembourg.”
