Business fund launched to help eradicate poverty

A new fund was launched in the Rwanda capital, Kigali, on Monday as part of a move to eradicate poverty by way of supporting the private sector.

The Business Linkages Challenges Fund (BLCF), financed by the British government, aimed to link businesses in Rwanda with counterparts in developed countries, the head of the British Department for International Development (DFID) office in Rwanda, Mark James, told IRIN on Tuesday.

He emphasised that Rwandan businesses would be linked with businesses in regional economic powers such as South Africa, not just Britain or Europe.

Criteria for participation in the programme were the establishment of a partnership with a foreign business; the transfer of expertise, skills and information between the businesses; a commitment by the Rwandan business to impact on poverty at home either through employment or the production of useful and affordable goods; and a positive effect on the environment, James said.

The fund was to be managed by the Rwanda Private Sector Federation (RPSF), he added.

At the launch of the fund, the director of the RPSF, Mugunga Ndoba, set out the challenges to private sector development: Rwanda being a landlocked country; poor physical infrastructure such as transport and communications; limited access to finance; and limited access to micro-credit.

He said that Rwandan businesses now had to survive and strive in a regional and international marketplace, and that the fund would enable them to make that leap.

The Minister for Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Alexandre Iyambajaje, suggested at the Monday launch of the BLCF that the greatest benefit from the fund might be in increasing the culture of competitiveness and enterprise in Rwanda. He also appealed to other donors to support similar funds.

The BLCF was initially launched by DFID in five countries in southern Africa and the UK. It has subsequently been extended to a further 13 African and Caribbean countries. Just over US $24 million has been allocated to the fund.