To enable the world appreciate investment opportunities in Rwanda, the Government of Rwanda, through the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), is organising the first ever sector specific Roundtable on Construction and Real Estate, at Kigali Serena Hotel May 19-20, 2009. East African Business Week's BOSCO HITIMANA interviewed MS. CLARE AKAMANZI, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer in Charge of Business Operations and Services at the Rwanda Development Board, on the significance of the upcoming roundtable. Read the excerpts.

Qn:Kindly tell us about the roundtable you are organising.

Ans:Previously we held big conferences for all sectors and now we have moved from that stage to where we have sector-focused roundtables.

We get players in a particular sector to come and see the opportunities we have. Previously, we sold investment opportunities but now we are going to sell specific investment projects.

This is more result-oriented, we are confident. It will be a smaller roundtable and more focused. Up to ten projects in construction and real estate will be showcased at this conference, with specific project information.

We will also have booths to showcase property projects for those that will be interested. In addition, government institutions in charge of land or licences will be present to guide or even register companies that are ready on site.

Qn:How is the construction and real estate sector performing?

Ans:We chose to start with the construction and real estate roundtable because it is one of the fastest growing sectors in Rwanda. It is growing around 15% per annum.

It is also a service based industry that employs a lot of people which is in line with the Government's vision of a service based economy. By increasing investments in this sector, we will be creating more employment opportunities for our people. Markedly, Kigali City has just finished its Master Plan which guides investments in the city and we thought that we had the right tool to prepare for this roundtable. We are also looking forward to having another one either in ICT or the agro-processing sectors by the end of the year.

Qn: Who will be the guest of honour?

Ans: We have invited His Excellency, President Paul Kagame, to officially open it as Guest of Honour. We have also invited investors and other senior government officials. We will also have present government institutions that deal with investors.

Qn:How many participants do you expect?

Ans: We expect 200 people: 100 foreigners and 100 from Rwanda. Specifically, we are looking at a regional market because we think there is great potential from the region. With the current global financial crisis, it's challenging to get investors from markets that have been greatly affected to look at opportunities now, especially in this sector. Despite the challenges in their markets, we also give them an opportunity to invest in markets that have great potential like Rwanda. We, however, will focus on the region. In terms of investors, we expect players in property development, dealers in construction materials, construction services like architects and surveyors, and skills development relevant to the construction sector.

We are also inviting financiers in property development related projects. We also hope to engage investors and start the process of concluding a deal, and hopefully by that time, the financial crisis will have subsided.

Qn: Tell us about registration, please.

Ans: Ye, registration is free of charge. One can register online through http://www.rwandainvest.com/roundtable/registration.php. We have already registered over 30 foreign companies and we are still getting confirmations from both foreign and Rwandan participants.

Qn: Could you break down the agenda for this roundtable?

Ans: We expect this roundtable to be focused, precise and manageable and we will be spending more time discussing specific projects and it will be business specific. We will have the Minister of Infrastructure giving an overview of the construction industry in Rwanda.

Rwanda Development Board (RDB) will talk about incentives and opportunities; Kigali City will make a presentation on the Master Plan and Rwanda Capital Markets Advisory Council (CMAC) will be presenting on how the capital markets can be a source of raising finances for property development projects. We will have banks talking about financing property development related projects. There will be preliminary discussions that involve everyone. We will spend more time on the projects.

Qn: Could you highlight some available investment opportunities in the sector?

Ans: We need residential estates and commercial establishments like office space buildings. Evidently we also need more hotels. We still need a wide range of construction companies that can do big projects. We need investors to process more finishing materials such as paint, glass, electric products and tiles. Our projects will analyze the feasibility of all these.

Qn: What is going to happen on the sidelines of the conference?

We have organised an exhibition. We have already invited private companies to exhibit their services and products related to construction and real estate.

Qn: Your last word?

We are inviting the business community associated with construction and real estate to come to Rwanda and participate in this roundtable and if they have specific projects that they are interested in, we are ready to discuss them even before the roundtable. The website provides all our contacts.