As night falls, the dome of the Kigali conference centre lights up, resplendent in the colours of Rwanda‘s flag as it aims to attract all eyes on the capital, and beyond.
In less than a decade, the small, landlocked nation has established itself as a destination for conferences, sports tournaments and other events, billing itself as “Africa’s Singapore” in a bid to boost business and the economy.
“Rwanda is one of the most stable countries in East Africa. So… people feel comfortable and safe when they come to these kinds of meetings,” Senegalese agricultural expert Ghislain Kanfany told AFP as he arrived for a conference of African plant producers.
Although rights groups regularly accuse President Paul Kagame’s government of crushing dissent and keeping an iron grip on power, Kigali’s clean, well-paved streets and modern infrastructure make a positive first impression on many visitors.
Prior to the pandemic, conference revenues had jumped nearly 40 percent between 2016 and 2019, according to government figures, with Kigali second only to Cape Town in terms of the number of events hosted on the African continent, the International Conferences and Conventions Association said.
The mushrooming of new infrastructure over the last six years — including the Kigali Convention Centre, whose dome is inspired by Rwanda’s beehive-shaped palaces, the Gahanga Cricket Stadium, or the 10,000-seater Kigali Arena, East Africa’s biggest indoor venue — has helped develop the nascent sector.
Source: eNCA
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