There will be no twist to the plot in Paul Kagame’s re-election for a further term at the helm of Rwanda, an African country that has enjoyed remarkable transformations since the last genocide of the twentieth century.
This small country of 13.7 million people in East Africa has risen to the rank of “The Place to Be” in Africa, and the world.
Since Paul Kagame took power, Rwanda has gone through a metamorphosis that commands respect.
Rwanda, often cited as a model for its post-genocide development, seems to embody an African success story, marked by dazzling economic growth, progress in gender equality and a greater role on the international stage.
An African economic miracle
Rwanda’s economic prowess, described by some as a ‘miracle’, is inseparable from the figure of Kagame. The country has posted average annual economic growth of 7.5 percent since 2000, lifting more than a million people out of poverty.
In 2023, Rwanda recorded a growth rate of 8.2 percent. While agriculture remains dominant, employing 56 percent of the workforce and contributing 25 percent of GDP, tourism, technology and financial services are booming.
Kigali now sees itself as a technology hub, with ambitious initiatives such as Innovation City.
This growth has been accompanied by a significant increase in GDP per capita, which has almost tripled since 2000, leading to a significant improvement in living standards. Investment in infrastructure, particularly in information technology and in the country’s energy capacity, has more than doubled, with a direct impact on economic and social development.
Franco-Rwandan reconciliation, international commitments
Under Paul Kagame, Rwanda has not only stepped up its involvement in peacekeeping missions in Africa, with 6,000 soldiers deployed in the Central African Republic and Mozambique, but has also used these deployments to negotiate economic agreements, in particular to attract foreign investors. Despite persistent tensions with the Democratic Republic of Congo over alleged support for rebel groups, Rwanda continues active diplomatic engagements to resolve regional conflicts.
The evolution of its international relations is particularly notable with France. During his visit to Kigali in May 2021, French President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged France’s responsibility in the Rwandan genocide, admitting that France had ignored warnings of the impending mass slaughter by backing a genocidal regime.
Although these statements did not constitute a formal apology, they did mark an important step towards reconciliation. Diplomatically, Kagame praised Macron’s comments as ‘more valuable than an apology’.
But for the Rwandan leader, the stakes lie elsewhere. The newfound warmth in diplomatic relations has led to substantial economic cooperation between the two nations.
France has increased its development aid to Rwanda, pledging an assistance package of €500 million between 2021 and 2023, to be supplemented by an additional investment of €400 million announced in 2024.
These funds target key sectors such as the environment, health and education, making France Rwanda’s second
largest bilateral donor, just behind the United States.
And that’s not all. Kagame is a shrewd strategist who knows how to sniff out opportunities. In 2021, relations between Rwanda and the UK became the subject of international debate when Boris Johnson’s government reached an agreement with Kigali to transfer 52,000 asylum seekers to Rwanda, in exchange for an advance of $280 million. The deal drew fierce international criticism and was eventually ruled as a negation of human rights by London’s Supreme Court, but it illustrates Kagame’s ability to seize opportunities that, while controversial, can
be strategically advantageous for his country.
The inclusion of women
In Rwanda, the issue of gender equality is not just something that adorns political speeches, but is embodied in the palpable reality of its modern institutions. With over 60 percent of women in parliament, the country
has one of the highest rates in the world. Measures such as facilitating access to credit for women entrepreneurs and promoting their participation in traditionally male-dominated sectors have been implemented. At the same time, the presence of women is being encouraged and even cultivated in fields previously reserved for men, such as STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and construction.
Odyssey into space
In 2020, Kagame inaugurated the Rwanda Space Agency, which symbolises his country’s ambition to position itself as a leader in space technology in Africa. Projects such as RwaSat-1, launched to monitor the environment and improve communications, and Icyerekezo, which brings internet connectivity to remote areas, show how the country is using space to support its national development.
In 2022, Rwanda and Nigeria became the first African countries to sign the Artemis agreements, a NASA space programme. The GeoHub project, funded in part by the ‘Agence Française de Developpement’ (AFD), aims to improve the design and evaluation of public policies through the strategic use of geospatial data. These efforts are part of the iSTAR 2024 programme, which uses geospatial technologies to address national challenges such
as agriculture and disaster management.
Revolution and reform in mining sector
Under Kagame, Rwanda’s mining sector, one of the cornerstones of its economy, has been growing at an annual rate of around 10 percent since 1999, overtaking agriculture in terms of revenue generated. The major turning point in this transformation was privatisation in 2006, a strategy aimed at attracting foreign capital and boosting exports. The adoption of a new mining code in 2018, as well as the creation of the Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board (RMB) and the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), have consolidated this momentum.
But only 30-40 percent of the mineral potential of the land of a thousand hills is currently being exploited. In a race to attract foreign investment, the government has introduced tax incentives, including a seven-year exemption from corporate income tax for investments of at least USD 50 million, and a preferential rate of 15
percent on revenues for projects to export minerals processed locally.
These measures have helped to make the mining sector the country’s second-largest source of revenue in 2023, after tourism, with some 300,000 people employed in the Great Lakes region.
In January 2024, a major agreement was signed with the giant Rio Tinto for the exploration and exploitation of lithium, crucial for the electric battery industry. Rwanda has also strengthened its international links in the mining sector. A memorandum of understanding with the European Union, signed in February 2024, aims to strengthen cooperation on critical raw materials.
Rwanda as a brand
As Rwanda’s leading source of foreign currency, tourism has become a major pillar of the national economy, with sport as the figurehead of this attraction strategy. Under Paul Kagame’s leadership, the country has developed significant sports infrastructure and forged international alliances to boost its appeal to tourists.
In this vein, Rwanda has forged partnerships with European football giants such as Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain, strategically placing the “Visit Rwanda” logo on their kits and equipment. Initiated in 2018, the
partnership with Arsenal has been strengthened and extended until 2025, representing a total investment of £40 million. This ambitious partnership not only promotes tourism, but also includes hosting Arsenal players for training camps on Rwandan soil, creating a cultural and sporting bridge between the UK and Rwanda.
CP/Sf/fss/as/APA