Isaac Nyarwaya named International Correspondent for PMForum & PM World Today in Kigali, Rwanda

PMForum has announced that Mr. Isaac Nyarwaya has been named an International Correspondent for PMForum and PM World Today in Rwanda. Mr. Nyarwaya is also the founder and managing director of the newly formed Centre of Project Management Excellence Ltd., based in Kigali.

Isaac Nyarwaya has over nine years of project management related experience in the NGO sector, United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), and recently in the private sector. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Management with Distinction from the National University of Rwanda and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) in Project Management from the Maastricht School of Management. He also has a PRINCE2 (Foundation) Certification and is scheduled to sit for the PMP exam this year. He has been a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI) since 1997.

Mr. Nyarwaya is in the process of establishing the Centre for Project Management Excellence (CPME Ltd) in Kigali to conduct project management related consultancy, training, research and publication. He is also a visiting lecturer at the Independent Institute of Lay Adventists of Kigali (INILAK). Isaac is committed to promoting professional project management in Rwanda and he dreams of having many certified project managers and a professional project management body in the country one day. As an International Correspondent for PMForum and PM World Today, Isaac will be reporting news and information about projects and project management in Rwanda.

According to Wikipedia [1], Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, known as the Land of a Thousand Hills, is a country located in the Great Lakes region of east-central Africa, bordered by Uganda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania. Although close to the equator the country has a cool temperate climate due to its high elevation. Kigali, the capital, has an average temperature of 19 degrees Celsius.

Rwanda is also renowned for its beautiful terrain with mostly grassy uplands and scenic, gently rolling hills. Its abundant wildlife, including the rare mountain gorillas are popular with eco-lovers and tourism has become one of the biggest sectors of the country's economy.

The country has received considerable international attention due to its 1994 genocide, in which over a million people were killed. Since then the country has made a remarkable recovery and is now considered as a model for developing countries. In 2009 A CNN report labeled Rwanda as Africa's biggest success story, having achieved stability, economic growth (average income has tripled in the past ten years) and international integration. The government is widely seen as one of the more efficient and honest ones in Africa. Fortune magazine published an article recently titled "Why CEOs Love Rwanda." In 2008, Rwanda became the first country in history to elect a national legislature in which a majority of members were women. Rwanda is, as of November 2009, a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, making the country one of only two in the Commonwealth without a British colonial past.

Rwanda's economy is still almost virgin in terms of industrialization, foreign investment, and engagement with international markets. Agriculture contributes 32% to GDP, while industry and services (mainly Tourism) contribute 15.5% and 48% respectively. The country's main exports are tea, coffee, and minerals. Other agricultural products such as pyrethrum and flowers are also exported. Limited industrial output generates products for local consumption, including cement, beverages, soap, shoes, plastic goods, garments, and cigarettes. Rwanda's mineral resources have hardly been exploited and include exploitable quantities of tin, wolfram, tungsten, colombo-tantalite (coltan), iron and methane gas in Lake Kivu.

The combination of political commitment to free market economy, the privatization programme, good governance, a new investment code, and institutional reforms to support private sector development have boosted investment in the country. The World Bank recently ranked Rwanda as the best country in Africa in terms of economic reforms and the 11th in the whole world. One of the greatest improvements is in opening a business in Rwanda which at the moment takes only two days, well ahead of many first world economies. These reforms have been pioneered by Rwanda Development Board. A 2004 IMF business survey ranked Rwanda as one of the top "three lion cubs" in Africa on account of its strong economic growth measured by steady and robust GDP growth.

According to the September 2005 edition of the IMF, over the last five years Rwanda also registered the third highest Purchasing Power Parity in Africa at 27% after Botswana and Mauritius. Equally, a 2003 report by the World Bank ranked Rwanda as one of Africa's top performers in terms of good governance and least levels of corruption. In 2009 Rwanda was named the World's top business reformer by the World Bank. Rwanda is part of the East African Community and a potential member of the planned East African Federation. [1]

Kigali, population 965,398 (2009), is the capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is situated in the centre of the nation, is the economic, cultural, and transport hub of Rwanda. The main residence and offices of the President of Rwanda are located in the city, as are the government ministries. Kigali was founded in 1907 under German colonial rule, but did not become the capital until Rwandan independence in 1962.

The city is built in hilly country, sprawling across four ridges and the valleys in between. The city centre is located on one of these ridges, with the main government area on another. The tops of the ridges have an average elevation of 1,600m (5,246 ft) while the valleys are around 1,300m (4,270 ft). The highest of the hills is Mt. Kigali, with an elevation of 1,850m (6,075 ft) above sea level.

Tin ore is mined near Kigali and the city built a smelting plant in the 1980s. Business in Rwanda is growing, and many new buildings are emerging across the city, including the ECOBANK tower, the Centenary House office block and INSURANCE PLAZA will be completed soon. Tourism and expatriate NGO workers also provide important input into the economy. The city is home to Kigali International Airport, with passenger connections daily to Nairobi and Entebbe. The city now has three international class hotels, built as part of the country's bid to increase tourism and better support business travelers [2]

Information about Rwanda and Kigali above is from Wikipedia (see "sources", below). Isaac Nyarwaya lives in Kigali and can be contacted at cpme.rwanda@gmail.com. We at PMForum want to welcome Isaac to our Global Correspondents Network, a team of International Correspondents in 40+ countries providing news and information from around the world of project management. For information, visit http://www.pmforum.org/pm%20forum%20team/index.htm#5.

Established in the early 1990s, www.pmforum.org was the world's first website devoted to professional project management. With advisors and correspondents worldwide, PMForum is now one of the world's most popular sources of international project management news and information. PMForum also publishes the popular monthly PM World Today eJournal where articles, papers and stories by leading PM authorities and practitioners around the world can be found; free subscriptions are available at www.pmworldtoday.net. 

Sources:
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwanda  
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kigali