Today RDB (Rwanda Development Board) awarded eleven local businesses during the 6th edition of the RDB Business Excellence Awards.

The 2018 RDB Business Excellence Awards, held under the theme ’In pursuit of Business Excellence’, celebrated efforts made by both corporate and small medium sized enterprises in Rwanda. The awards are an opportunity for the local business community to come together and celebrate business development and success.

Over 400 guests including members of local business community, media, development partners and various other stakeholders, participated in the ceremony that took place at the Kigali Convention Center.

The eleven categories that were awarded were the Investor of the Year, Emerging Investor of the Year, the Exporter of the Year, Emerging Exporter of the Year, the Innovator of the Year, the Woman Entrepreneur of the Year, Young Entrepreneur of the Year, The Made in Rwanda Enterprise of the Year, The SME of the Year, The Emerging Made in Rwanda Enterprise of the Year and the Service Enterprise of the year. Over 100 companies applied for the 2018 RDB Business Excellence Awards.

Commenting on the role of the private sector in Rwanda’s development agenda and how the RDB Excellence Awards tie into RDB’s mission of fast tracking investment in Rwanda, RDB Chief Executive Officer, Clare Akamanzi, said:

‘’We recognise the role the private sector plays in spearheading Rwanda’s economy and that is why we are celebrating the business community this way. As RDB our main mission is to successfully make Rwanda the investment destination of choice in Africa. Today, Rwanda is ranked 29th in the world in the World Bank Doing Business Report as one of the top 30 countries in the world in terms of ease of doing business. This ranking is proof that Rwanda is making progress towards its goal of becoming the premier destination for investment in our region”

In his keynote address, the Minister of Infrastructure, Amb. Claver Gatete, said:

“When these awards keep getting bigger and better it is a sign that the private sector is growing. However, our government has one core objective; to make the lives of our people better in order to have a more prosperous nation. This cannot be realised without a vibrant private sector performance and financial sector development.”

Below are the winners of 2018 RDB Business Excellence Awards:
1. Investor of the Year: I&M Bank
2. Emerging investor of the Year: Afriprecast
3. Exporter of the Year: Africa Improved Foods
4. Emerging exporter of the Year: Garden Fresh
5. Service Enterprise of the Year: Legacy Clinic
6. Women entrepreneur of the Year: Get It Ltd.
7. Young entrepreneur of the Year: Cow Horns
8. Innovator of the Year: Babyl
9. Made in Rwanda Enterprise of the Year: Sina Gerald Urwibutso
10. SME of the Year: Pascal Technologies
11. Emerging Made in Rwanda Enterprise of the Year: East Africa Granite Industries