Rwanda's Economy: An Unlikely Success Story?

Busy times: Folks registering their businesses in Rwanda

For about four years now, I've been saying that folks are sleeping on Rwanda. National Public Radio claims that it's an unlikely scenario. I respond that it's not unlikely, but the inevitable result when you follow a capitalist approach. Instead of going the Marxist route as most African leaders have done (to very disastrous results), Rwandan President Paul Kagame has chosen another economic path for his country. Rwanda still has a long way to go, but it's on the right path. It's now capitalizing on apparel manufacturing now that it's increasingly leaving China due to rising labor costs. From NPR: "East Africa is a tough place to do business. Want to open shop in Kenya? Prepare for a month of paper work, surly officials and bribes. To the west, in Rwanda, it's a different story. 'Registering a business takes just a matter of hours. It no longer takes months, weeks, as it used to be,' says Rwandan President Paul Kagame. This year, Rwanda moved up seven spots on the World Economic Forum's competitiveness index to number 63 out of more than 140 countries. In recent years, it has posted average, annual GDP growth of more than 7 percent."