Rwanda Development Board’s duty to boost tourism in Rwanda.

The Rwanda Development Board is a government department that unifies all the departments in charge of luring, keeping, and facilitating investments in the economy of the country. Francis Gatare has served as RDB’s Chief Executive Officer since September 2023, taking Clare Akamanzi’s position.

The Rwanda Development Board (RDB) was set up in 2009 to coordinate, encourage, and promote the growth of the country’s economy. The RDB include organisations tasked with business registration, investment promotion, environmental clearances, privatisation and specialist agencies which support the priority sectors of ICT and tourism as well as SMEs and human capacity development in the private sector. A cabinet-level job, the Executive Director’s position is filled by appointment from and direct reporting to the President of Rwanda. RDB counts the amount of jobs produced, higher exports, and direct foreign and local investments as indicators of success.

Under Akamanzi, RDB successfully repositioned Rwanda as a competitive investment destination with favourable rankings from international indices by the World Bank and the World Economic Forum on ease of doing business and competitiveness as well as an appealing tourist destination under the Visit Rwanda campaigns.

Visit Rwanda Sponsorship

Visit Rwanda was named as Arsenal’s first official shirt sleeve sponsor and the club’s official tourism partner in May 2018 as part of a three-year, £10 million a year agreement. In 2021, the contract was renewed for an additional four years.

As the club’s official tourism partner, Visit Rwanda and Paris Saint-Germain agreed to a three-year, €8–10 million per year contract in December 2019. The back of the men’s training uniform and the shirt sleeve of the women’s squad will both include the Visit Rwanda emblem. The agreement was extended until 2025 in May 2023.

As a founder and hosting partner, Visit Rwanda inked a sponsorship agreement with the Basketball Africa League (BAL) in May 2021. The BAL team’s apparel will feature Visit Rwanda. In 2023, the agreement was extended by a further five years.

Bayern Munich and Visit Rwanda agreed to a five-year agreement in August 2023 as a partner in the development of football and the marketing of travel to Rwanda.

The relationship with Arsenal Football Club is a component of Rwanda’s long-term tourist development and conservation plan, which is supported by EDPRS II and Vision 2050. Rwanda has enhanced its conference and hotel facilities, transit systems, tourism destinations, and conservation regulations as part of this approach.

According to the ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association), Rwanda is now the third most popular African venue for holding international conferences and events. The national airline, Rwandair, presently travels to 26 locations across the world. In addition, the Volcanoes National Park has been extended to provide more habitat for the critically endangered mountain gorilla, and Akagera National Park has been replenished with lions and Black Rhinos to make it a Big 5 park. Today, tourism generates the majority of Rwanda’s foreign exchange earnings and has so far created over 90,000 employment.

One of the various strategies Rwanda has employed to win over the hearts and minds of potential tourists is the collaboration with the Arsenal Football Club, and as a result, a portion of our tourism revenues are invested in these marketing initiatives.

One of the biggest contributions to the local society has been tourism. The Revenue Share Programme was one of the key tourist projects. The Revenue Share programme, started by the Rwandan government in 2005, intends to direct investment in the regions near Rwanda’s several national parks.

The Rwanda Development Board has given more than $1.28 million USD to more than 158 community-based initiatives. These initiatives have given residents of the three national parks; Akagera National Park, Nyungwe National Park, and Volcanoes National Park access to safe drinking water, health facilities, classrooms, and homes.

Senior Management

As of October 2023, Rwanda Development Board senior management includes the following;

1. Francis Gatare – Chief Executive Officer.
2. Nelly Mukazayire – Deputy Chief Executive Officer.
3. Philip Lucky – Ag. Chief Investment Office.r
4. Francois Ngoboka – Ag. Chief Skills Officer.
5. Michaella Rugwizangoga – Chief Tourism Officer.
6. Joseph Cedrick Nsengiyumva – Chief Financial Officer.
7. Richard Kayibanda – Ag. Chief Strategy and Compliance Officer.