Tanzania, Burundi fail the test as Kenya tops

waltham · 2014-02-23T17:38:30+00:00

Home Rwanda Business Business Tanzania, Burundi fail the test as Kenya tops Share Bookmark Print Rating Rwanda Top 100 award winners pose for a group photo after the event on November 1, 2013. Photo/Cyril Ndegeya By KABONA ESIARA Rwanda Today Posted Friday, February 21 2014 at 17:35 In Summary Burundi was lumped in the same basket with Tanzania while Uganda benefitted from a slight rise in popularity owing to its historical ties with Rwanda as Kenya emerged the most favourite destination for local businesses. SHARE THIS STORY 0 inShare Related Stories Tanzania, Burundi fail the test as Kenya tops Unease has gripped the Rwandan businesses community with several firms shelving expansion plans into Tanzania, a survey carried out by Ipsos Synovate, a Kenyan marketing firm, shows. Burundi was lumped in the same basket with Tanzania while Uganda benefitted from a slight rise in popularity owing to its historical ties with Rwanda as Kenya emerged the most favourite destination for local businesses. The Rwanda 2013/2014 Top 100 Medium-Sized Business Survey report shows that, out of the 281 businesses that participated in the 2013 survey, only 16 per cent showed interest in expansion into Tanzania, a drop from 31 per cent in 2012. Though the report does not give the reasons for the findings, some CEOs of the mid-sized businesses independently confided to Rwanda Today that an unfavourable business climate [in Tanzania], worsened by bureaucracy, are among reasons why they would not set up shop there. Tanzania has been viewed as a reluctant party to the regional integration agenda, having on several occasions asked for more time to open up its economy to its East African counterparts. ALSO READ: CoW moves to mend rift with Tanzania A business expansion plan is one of the benchmarks for a firm to qualify to Rwandas Top 100 fastest growing firms. The report was launched recently in Kigali. The survey was sponsored by the audit firm KPMG, Rwanda Today, a Nation Media Group publication, and Rwanda Development Board (RDB), a government agency created to fast-track investments in Rwanda. Robert Onyango, KPMG director, midsized market, however preferred to differ with the Rwandan business community, saying perception is partly responsible for companies holding back their regional expansion plans. KPMG Rwanda country representative John Ndunyu believes the timing of the survey greatly influenced the results. Losing confidence in Burundi Rwandans are also slowly losing confidence in Burundi, which analysts say like Tanzania, is accused of being slow on implementing the East African integration even when the two have been allowed. This, according to analysts, could explain why Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda formed the coalition of the willing to speed up some of the regional projects. Confidence in Burundi has slipped from 69 per cent in 2012 to 51 per cent at the time of the survey, which also shows a slight rise in confidence in the Uganda market among Rwandan investors. At least 49 per cent of the businesses executives plan to set up shop in Uganda, compared with the 48 per cent in 2012. The rosy relationship, according to some business people, is historical. Rwanda still imports more from Uganda that the latter does from the country. 1 | 2 Next Page»

Thread starter waltham
Start date Feb 23, 2014

waltham

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Tanzania, Burundi fail the test as Kenya tops

waltham

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