EU-Rwanda Business Forum with the participation of Polish companies on June 26-27
03.07.2023
On June 26-27, 2023, the first ever EU-Rwanda Business Forum was held in Kigali, which gathered about 120 European companies interested in investing in Rwanda, including from Poland. The main objective of the forum was to present investment opportunities in Rwanda, economic potential and the advantages of the country as a regional business center in Africa.
In addition to potential investors from the EU and local partners, the forum was also attended by high representatives of the EU (including the Director General of the European Commission for International Partnerships) and the government of Rwanda, as well as the most important business support organizations and financial institutions, both Rwandan and EU.
The first part of the forum was devoted to cross-cutting issues related to trade and investment in the country, followed by thematic sessions on selected 4 strategic sectors from the point of view of Rwanda, i.e. agriculture/agricultural processing, health and pharmacy, minerals/mining sector and green and sustainable economy. The event, apart from the informational value, was also a unique opportunity for direct interaction between companies (B2B) and between companies and Rwandan decision-makers (B2G).
The business forum, despite being organized in a relatively short time and not very convenient date (the beginning of the holiday season in many EU countries), gathered a large number of companies from Europe and was considered a success by both Rwandans and the EU. The Polish business delegation consisted of 12 companies and was the third most numerous group on the forum right after France (39 companies) and Belgium (14 companies), ahead of, among others, Netherlands (10), Hungary (7), Italy (7), Sweden (7), Germany (6), Spain (4), etc.
Thanks to the activities of our Embassy in Kigali, representatives of 3 Polish companies (LuNa Smelter, LUG Light Factory and Pietrucha Group) appeared as main panellists on 3 sectoral panels on the mining sector and sustainable urbanization, which enjoyed the largest attendance at the forum. In addition to the above companies, the forum was also attended by representatives of: PIR Invest, KPS Food, TK Bato, PlastMoroz, Deeplai, Fuel Group, Exousia Spa, Incuba Med Technologies. The active and numerous presence of Polish companies was widely noted both by Rwandan decision-makers and the EU side, who congratulated the gathering of such a large number and active representatives of Polish business. The presence of Polish companies was very visible and reported on social media of Rwandan and EU institutions as well as information portals. Thanks to the support of our Embassy in Kigali, Polish companies held numerous meetings, both B2B and B2G.
