Rwanda continues to emerge as one of Africa’s most competitive domiciliation hubs for investment vehicles, driven by sustained reforms, expanding partnerships, and a clear national vision to support long-term capital mobilisation. A modern, transparent, and innovation-oriented financial environment has positioned the country as a credible home for Africa-focused funds seeking stability, regulatory clarity, and operational efficiency.

This progress is anchored in a robust reform agenda. Over the past five years, Rwanda has introduced laws and regulatory instruments, expanded its Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) network, and enacted targeted fiscal incentives such as a 3% income tax rate for fund managers and 0% Capital Gains Tax. These measures have supported the domiciliation of Africa-focused investment vehicles, a strong signal of market confidence. The recent directive by the Capital Markets Authority allowing regulated entities to invest in hard currency further strengthens the competitiveness of Rwanda-domiciled funds and enhances their ability to operate within international markets.

High-Level Breakfast Session Dialogue Highlights Continued Momentum

A high-level breakfast session offered an opportunity to reflect on this momentum, gathering stakeholders in Kigali on 21 November 2025 on the margins of Norrsken Africa Week. The session, organised by the Collaborative for Domiciliation of Funds in Africa and the Kigali International Financial Centre (KIFC), in partnership with MEDA and the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund, formed part of the Africa-wide dissemination of the Mastercard Foundation-funded Study on the Domiciliation of Funds and Investment Vehicles in Africa. The convening brought together government leaders, regulators, fund managers, investors, and ecosystem stakeholders to reflect on Rwanda’s achievements and examine opportunities to deepen its domicile value proposition.

The convening reaffirmed Rwanda’s status as one of Africa’s rising financial hubs and its growing role in shaping fund domiciliation, capital mobilization, and inclusive investment ecosystems. Partners expressed strong commitment to continued collaboration to unlock Rwanda’s next phase of growth and position the country as a flagship domicile for Africa’s investment vehicles.

Discussions throughout the session—and across broader ecosystem engagements—emphasised the importance of inter-agency coordination between CMA, KIFC, NBR, RDB, and MINECOFIN to further enhance operational efficiency. Participants also underscored the need to mobilise more domestic capital, develop specialised skills in fund administration and alternative investment management, explore regional passporting models to support cross-border fund operations, establish an innovation sandbox for domiciliation, and expand shared service platforms to reduce operational barriers for fund managers.

Speaking on Rwanda’s progress, Hortense Mudenge, CEO of the Kigali International Financial Centre, noted:

“Rwanda has made tremendous progress in building a transparent, well-governed, and innovative financial ecosystem. Our collaboration with the Collaborative team, MEDA, and the Mastercard Foundation accelerates our mission to position Rwanda as a trusted home for Africa’s investment vehicles, and to ensure that domiciled capital translates into meaningful economic opportunities for youth and women.”

Reflecting on the continental significance of the work, Jeff Temba of the Collaborative for Fund Domiciliation in Africa shared:

“This study and the ecosystem engagements are designed not just to understand Africa’s domiciliation landscape, but to activate practical pathways for building efficient, and globally competitive domiciles that can unlock inclusive growth across the continent. Rwanda is demonstrating what is possible when intentional reforms are supported by strong partnerships.”

Adding perspective on collaboration, Eugene Ntananga emphasised:

“The discussions in Kigali highlighted how important coordinated effort is when building an effective investment ecosystem. What emerged clearly is the value of bringing regulators, investors, service providers, and development partners around the same table to reflect honestly on what is working and where further alignment is needed.”

The session underscored the importance of collaboration between government institutions, development partners, and the private sector in strengthening Rwanda’s investment ecosystem. It also reinforced the alignment between KIFC, the Collaborative, MEDA, and the Mastercard Foundation in building a domicile that advances capital mobilization and inclusive finance, especially for youth and women.