The Kigali International Finance Centre (KIFC) is welcoming leading financial centres from around the world to Rwanda, as the World Alliance of International Financial Centres (WAIFC) meets in the country for the first time.
WAIFC will be in Kigali to hold its Board Meeting, during a three-day series of events which will include an ecosystem tour of the Norrsken Foundation where fintech companies will pitch their business ideas and a discussion panel focusing on sustainable finance.
KIFC is using the gathering to call on global finance centres to continue putting green finance and fintech at the heart of future investments.
Powered by an entrepreneurial attitude towards sustainability, Rwanda is making strides towards developing a carbon-neutral and climate resilient economy. Rwanda has huge potential for renewable energy, and the country established the Cleaner Production and Climate Innovation Center (CPCIC) in 2019 to facilitate the reskilling of Rwanda’s workforce towards putting sustainability and green growth first.
Nick Barigye, CEO of Rwanda Finance Limited said: “It gives me great pleasure to welcome our colleagues from around the world to Rwanda. This week is historic for our country. WAIFC bringing its Board Meeting to Kigali reflects the strategic achievements that Rwanda has made over a short space of time and is thanks to the hard work of our team, the direction of our board led by Tidjane Thiam, and our stakeholders. Despite the pandemic, Rwanda has been working around the clock to reform its laws and regulatory environment and innovate in ways never thought possible. Today, we are using the WAIFC platform to call on our fellow financial centres to continue the momentum toward more sustainable finance. Here in Rwanda, the Sustainable Finance Roadmap for KIFC is being developed to position the Centre as a regional hub for sustainable finance and will be published later this year”.
Dr Jochen Biedermann, Managing Director of the World Alliance of International Financial Centres said: “It’s great to be here in Rwanda for the first time. It is a huge tribute to KIFC and Nick Barigye’s team that they can host this Board Meeting so soon since their inception. The work that has been done on the ground here in Kigali to modernise and innovate has been fast but thorough and we cannot wait to see where Rwanda goes from here”.
