In August of 2015, BDC Rwanda, The Rwanda Development Board, and RCE hosted its first ever Investment Expo in Kigali. It was a gathering of some of the top Rwandan entrepreneurs, who presented their businesses in an exciting, interactive exposition setting. We assembled a team of ~15+ experienced Christian investors to participate in this exposition and in the ongoing transformation of this nation.  The Rwandan business environment and legal code are very business friendly and there is a burgeoning entrepreneurial culture in Rwanda.

We offered options for an action-packed week of activities or just the 2-day investment expo. The 7-day journey, and the many more like it to come, create a number of unique opportunities such as:

• Interact with and hear investment presentations from over 50 expo business participants from many different sectors including ICT, Agriculture, Consumer Services, Transportation, Distribution, Construction, Health, Tourism, and Hospitality.
• To see expo businesses that can be described as going concern, early stage, post product, post revenue businesses.  A minority of expansion stage businesses may participate.
• Opportunities to interact with government officials, local investors, other international investors, and civic leaders.
• Strategic opportunities to influence others with your Christian testimony and to let your light shine through Kingdom business.
• A schedule that is optimized to help you scan a broad cross-section of opportunities and then focus your time on the opportunities that interest you most.
• Expo businesses will be qualified through a registration process that will require participating expo businesses to meet a minimum requirement for participation and have suitable documentation of material facts.
• Template term sheets, and appropriate professional services will be available to facilitate investment transactions.
• numerous cultural and business-related opportunities before and after the Expo itself.

Investment Expo – FAQ

• How much experience do I need as an Investor?
• There will be investment opportunities suitable for individual and institutional investors with an intermediate or greater level of investing experience.  Beginning angel investors with a great deal of business experience will be considered on a case by case basis.
• What size investments are involved?
• We anticipate that businesses participating in the expo will have capital needs ranging from tens to hundreds of thousand of dollars.  Perhaps a few opportunities with capital needs in the millions of dollars.  Typically, these investments would have opportunities for participation for a number of investors, so individual investors might subscribe to a deal at levels as low as $2500 up to amounts that are many multiples of this amount.
• What will be done to facilitate the investments?
• Through the expo we will provide template term sheets and boiler plate legal documents that are both investor and entrepreneur friendly.  A primer on these term sheets will be available prior to the trip.  Additionally, through the expo we will pre-arrange certain accounting and legal services.  Furthermore, we will facilitate investment through the use of syndicates and a sidecar fund.  More information available on request.

If you are interested in participating in future Investment Expos as an investor please contact us and be sure to sign up for our Newsletter (below). We’ll be sure to send you updates and an invitation to apply when the time comes.