Muraho from Kigali, Rwanda!
I’m on my way back to the USA today after eight days in Rwanda.
Below are some photos from Kigali, Rwanda taken this week. While here I had a chance to explore Kigali, meet with entrepreneurs, trek with the gorillas in the Virunga National Park, hike on the mountains overlooking Lake Kivu in Gisenyi, and see the future campus of the Akilah Institute for Women in Bugesera District. Kigali is probably the cleanest city in East Africa with lots and lots of paved streets and sidewalks.
The World Bank in its 2011 Doing Business Report named Rwanda as the most improved country in Africa and 2nd most improved globally for ease of conducting business. The Rwanda Development Board (RBD) is working hard to streamline business and investment regulations to make doing business in Rwanda attractive. Take a look at this Powerpoint slide deck from the RBD detailing business reforms and this news article “Rwanda is Now Open for Business.”
The Kagame Administration is halfway into executing on their “Vision 2020″ to build Rwanda into a middle-income country by focusing on economic development from the IT and tourism industries. You must read this Vision 2020 PDF if you are at all interested in economic development or solutions to ending poverty.
Interestingly, President Paul Kagame is perhaps the most active Twitter user among African Heads of State, connecting globally with the IT-savvy world.
Carnegie Mellon will be setting up a computer science school in Kigali in 2011 to train the next generation of East African programmers. And the Marriott, Hilton, and Radisson are all building hotels here to open in 2012 along with the new Kigali Convention Center.
There is so much activity going on here!
Take a look at the pictures below. Do these pictures of Rwanda surprise you?
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| Downtown Kigali |
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| Downtown Kigali |
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| Downtown Kigali |
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| EcoBank Headquarters Downtown Kigali |
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| Ernst & Young Headquarters Kigali |
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| Hotel Milles Des Collines (Hotel Rwanda), Kigali |
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| Nakumatt Supermarket Bakery, Kigali |
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| Nakumatt Supermarket Electronics Section, Kigali |
Rwanda is not only ready for entrepreneurs, it’s ready for tourists too.
Here are some photos from my journey to see the Mountain Gorillas and from hiking near Lake Kivu. Rwanda is a beautiful country!
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| The Sunrise lightens this mist-filled Rwandan valley on the drive from Kigali to Ruhengeri to see the Mountain Gorillas |
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| On the Mountain Gorilla Treks in the Virungas of Northwest Rwanda you can get within 15 feet of these beautiful creatures |
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| After 90 minutes we found the male Silverback Gorilla in the Virungas on our trek |
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| Singing and dancing with a friendly Rwandan Church Choir in Ginsenyi, Rwanda at the Palm Resort by Lake Kivu |
If you have a chance, you must come to Rwanda at some point in your life. It’s a beautiful, dynamic, and friendly country full of “a thousand hills and a million smiles.”
I’m about to board flight one for the trek home from Kigali –> Entebbe –> Istanbul –> New York –> Raleigh. I love long flights as I can read, focus, and plan! I’m back to iContact on Monday morning.
What Are Your Thoughts?
Did you know this was happening in Africa? Why do you think the media so rarely tells this side of the story about what is happening in Africa?
Tell me your thoughts in the comments.
