Industry

Industry Departments

Rwandan economic development and the attainment of the goals set out in the Vision 2020 rely to a large extent on industrial development.

To understand the structural changes required for Rwandan industry to move towards higher productivity activities and to identify priority sectors and future industrial opportunities requires a technical understanding of the industrial sector and a solid basis on which to design and inform industrial policy.

The broad goals of Rwanda Industrial Policy are those stipulated in the Vision 2020 and the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS): to create and build the transformational industrial growth that would make Rwanda regionally and internationally competitive.

These include promoting the growth of the economy with the target of $900 GDP per capita by 2020 – requiring GDP growth of 8% on average per annum. They also include the goal of structural transformation, with industry accounting for 26% of GDP by 2020, the national investment rate reaching 30% of GDP, and non-farm employment reaching 1.4million.

To achieve these high level goals, there are four main inputs required for the growth of industry:

• Provide high quality and affordable infrastructure: create attractive conditions for the development of economic activities, by setting up industrial parks, as delimited territorial areas, with quality and affordable infrastructure, utilities and adequate effluent treatment services:

• Facilitate trade by removing barriers and promoting standards and fostering greater integration into regional and international trading networks;

• Promote a business environment conducive to private sector growth;

• Develop the human resources required by the growing industrial and service sectors

• These key requirements lead to the following key outputs:

• Increase the quality and quantity of existing exports particularly through focusing on value addition;

• Promote the diversification of exports and production into new sectors;

• Increase investment in industry and services; and

• Ensure the environmental sustainability of industry through treatment at source.

Together policy and initiatives in these areas can lead to the key outcomes targeted:

 high GDP growth,
 transformation of GDP shares,
 employment creation and poverty reduction

Priority programs and activities

• Special Economic Zones project in Kigali; • Provincial Industrial Parks program for rural industrialization; • Creation and promotion of viable and dynamic small and medium enterprises (SMEs); • Market access for sustainable Business development.

Main achievements

Small and Medium Enterprise Policy and Strategy development. The overall objective of the policy is to foster job creation and an increase in the tax and export base through the promotion of competitive new and existing SMEs in value addition.

To achieve this, below are the strategic objectives:

• Promote a culture of entrepreneurship among Rwandans

• Facilitate SME access to development services including:

• Business development services

• Access to local, regional and international markets and market information

• Promote innovation and technological capacity of SMEs for competitiveness

• Put in place mechanisms for SMEs to access appropriate business financing

Facilitate financial access for manufactures

• SMEs Development Funds

• Processing Revolving funds supporting to buy farmer’s produce

Facilitation in Market access for sustainable Business development

• Organization of innovation workshop, Provincial and national competition towards innovative production and improving the quality of products;

• Craft Production Centers and selling points development in strategic area across the country ;

• Facilitation to talented craft producers/SMEs to participate in foreign trade fairs and exhibitions (SIAO in Burkina faso, Bari in Italy, Shanghai – China, Jua-kali, …);

• Marketing plan for Rwandan craft products

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IN 2009-2010

Focusing on improving the legal and policy framework, Rwanda has recently passed a new Law on Intellectual Property, Law N° 31/2009 of 26/10/2009 and a Policy aimed at promoting intellectual property rights.

The first objective is to contribute to the promotion of technological innovation and to the transfer and dissemination of technology, to the mutual advantage of producers and users of technological knowledge and in a manner conducive to social and economic welfare of population and to a balance of rights.

The second objective is to create a fair and equitable commercial environment by the reduction and the prevention of distortions and impediments to free trade and to set up principles, rules and disciplines dealing with trade in counterfeit goods.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry has also helped Rwandan artists to get organized in a process to set up a Organisation for collective management of their intellectual property rights.

The Law on the protection of intellectual property provides in its Article 253 that the use and management of copyrights, rights of performers, of phonogram producers and of broadcasting organisations shall be entrusted to one or many private companies of collective management of copyrights and related rights.

The new Rwandan Society of Authors (RSAU) has been inaugurated and it is already registered at Rwanda Development Board (No.1538 /10/NYR).

Sensitization campaigns have been carried out to motivate creators and inventors at different levels to get their properties registered and so far the following certificates have been granted by the Office of the Registrar General: 232 Patents of invention, 45 Industrial designs, 7025trademarks and 291 Copyrights.

Rwanda is interested with the regional and international integration in the field of intellectual property. The Law authorising ratification of the membership of Rwanda to the Africa Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) has been approved by the cabinet (both chambers) and the process of signing the instrument of accession is ongoing.

Furthermore, the ratification laws authorizing Rwanda to become a member of The Madrid Agreement, The Hague Agreement and the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) have been approved and are already published in Official gazette. The process of signing the instruments of ratification thereof is ongoing.