France, Rwanda
Finance is key to Franco-Rwandan rapprochement

The New Guard
Nigeria, Mozambique and Rwanda

Every Wednesday, Africa Intelligence spotlights a new generation of movers and shakers in business and politics.

NigeriaBimbola Kolawole, a rising energy expert

MozambiqueErnesto Max Elias Tonela, Nyusi's rep in Paris

RwandaTesi Rusagara, the builder of Kigali Innovation City

West Africa
Financial lobby group Paris Europlace to train francophone Africa's top regulators

Paris Europlace, the body which promotes Paris as a financial centre, is setting up a training programme for West African financial regulators and civil servants. It will be run in partnership with Paris Dauphine University and the World Bank's International Financial Corporation.

West Africa
Bpifrance partners with Islamic Development Bank to extend Africa reach

The French investment bank has teamed up with the Jeddah-based organisation in order to diversify and expand on the continent.

Rwanda
New financial hub still wooing investors despite launch delay

Rwanda Finance, the state entity behind Kigali's new financial centre, is ramping up efforts to convince investors to settle in Rwanda. Even though the official launch was postponed again, the agency has been setting up bilateral meetings.

Mauritius, Rwanda
Afreximbank's new export fund straddles Kigali and Port Louis

An investment fund created by Afreximbank to promote inter-African trade registered an entity in Mauritius last month. The institution itself is due to set up its headquarters in Kigali.

France, Rwanda
Tidjane Thiam joins Macron's Kigali delegation

The former CEO of Credit Suisse, Tidjane Thiam, is part of the official delegation accompanying President Emmanuel Macron to Kigali on 27 May, alongside a few ministers and hand-picked business leaders.

France, Rwanda
France denies citizenship to daughter of Félicien Kabuga

French authorities have informed one of the daughters of Félicien Kabuga, the alleged financial mastermind of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, that her application for French nationality has been rejected. She has been living in France for 27 years.

France, Rwanda
Macron could visit Kigali in May

The French presidency is making plans for Emmanuel Macron's possible trip to Kigali in May, although it has not been confirmed.

Rwanda
Kigali International Financial Centre headhunts among Rwandan diaspora

Faced with a shortage of qualified personnel for its new finance centre, the state-run Rwanda Finance has mounted a drive to recruit Rwandans living abroad, including in Belgium, the UK, Germany and the Netherlands.

Inner circles | Africa, France
AFD head mobilises his networks to boost agency's foreign policy profile

As the Agence Francaise de Dévelopement prepares to have its financial capacities increased by recently adopted development legislation, its head, Rémy Rioux, is putting his connections to work to convince African financial institutions to put greater emphasis on climate change in their development strategies.

Rwanda
Kigali International Financial Centre determined to open in June

Rwanda's offshore finance centre, originally slated for a December 2020 launch, is now set to get off the ground in June. Rwanda Finance, the state agency behind the centre, is working on attracting its first clients.

Burundi, DRC, Rwanda
Energie des Grands Lacs already onto groundwork for Ruzizi IV dam

Construction has not yet started on the 147-MW Ruzizi III hydropower plant but that hasn't stopped the Economic Community of the Great Lake Countries' initiative Energie des Grands Lacs (EGL) from looking at the idea of a Ruzizi IV.

Spotlight | Africa, Rwanda
Major players in African finance to set up shop at Kagame's offshore centre in Kigali

The Kigali International Financial Centre is attracting many major law and fiduciary firms already present in Africa to open branch offices there.

Spotlight | Rwanda, Zimbabwe
Marc Holtzman, African leaders' favourite financier

In the starting blocks for the future offshore Kigali Financial Centre, US financier Marc Holtzman has secured several key financial positions in Rwanda and Zimbabwe.

Southern Africa
Botswana, Mauritius and Zimbabwe put on best show to impress money-laundering watchdog

From 24 November to 4 December, the reputation of Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mauritius will lie in the hands of the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group, a body of the global money laundering watchdog FATF.

Spotlight | Rwanda
Bank of Kigali positions itself as financial centre's entry point

The country's largest bank, which is controlled by the state, is carving out an important role for itself in the capital's upcoming international finance hub.

Rwanda
UK's CDC Group turns to Rwanda to structure offshore investments

The Rwandan government's new Kigali International Financial Centre appears to have won over the British public development agency CDC Group.

Africa
Bpifrance's new 'fund of funds' sparks interest from private equity firms

The state-owned Bpifrance is set to finance leading African asset managers into its Averroès IV 'fund of funds.'

France, Rwanda
What Sarkozy and Kagame said to each other in Paris

According to West Africa Newsletter's information, former French president Nicolas Sarkozy dined with Paul Kagame during the Rwandan president's stay [...]

France, Rwanda
Elysee awaits invitation from Kigali

Emmanuel Macron is hoping for a strong signal from Rwanda [...]