Doing Business in Rwanda

The economy is overwhelmingly rural and heavily dependent on agriculture. Eighty percent of the population is involved in subsistence farming and agricultural products comprise 34 percent of total GDP.

In 2008, minerals were Rwanda’s leading export generating $ 93 million, an increase of $ 22 million over 2007. Coffee and tea generated $ 90 million in 2008 export earnings. Europe and the United States were the major markets for coffee exports and tea exports mainly went to Pakistan. Tourism is the country’s leading foreign exchange earner, with total revenues of $ 214 million in 2008 compared to $ 138 million in 2007.

Belgium is Rwanda’s major European trading partner. The U.S. has emerged as a growing consumer of Rwandan specialty coffee. Rwanda’s small industrial sector comprises 16 percent of GDP and employs less than 3 percent of the active population. The Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning expects the sector to grow between 7 and 14 percent annually during the next three years. The services sector comprises 48 percent of GDP and has been growing at an average annual rate of 9.3 percent. Rwanda is highly dependent on imports that mainly come from Europe, China, India, Kenya and Uganda.

Imports from the U.S. in 2008 were $ 20.5 million and included used clothes, drugs and chemicals, ICT and telecommunication equipment, cooking oil and wheat. Rwandan exports to the U.S. during the same period were $13.7 million. In 2007, Rwanda joined the East African Community (EAC), which has a combined population of over 120 million. In January 2010 the member countries of the EAC formed a customs union and they are scheduled to form a common market by July 2010.

Rwanda is also a member of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), which has a total population of 406 million. Products from COMESA countries are exempted from customs taxes under certain conditions.