High time to invest in Rwanda

“The African continent is moving fast, and Rwanda is at its heart. The place to be in Africa is Rwanda, and the place to invest in Rwanda is Kigali,” he said, referring to over 100,000 construction permit requests received by the city last year.

Kigali is experiencing a boom in development and has a youthful population, he told The Korea Herald, encouraging Korean investors to explore opportunities in the country.

The mayor also recalled discussions at the Korea-Africa Summit, highlighting Rwanda as a safe, transparent, and fast-growing investment destination with strong opportunities in real estate, tourism and supply chains.

He urged Korean companies, especially those from Busan, to engage with Africa’s major business events, emphasizing the continent’s readiness for investment.

Asked about perceptions that Africa is “far away” from Korea, the mayor cited limited people-to-people contact in the past as one of the main reasons such views persist.

“Sister-city agreements are a good opportunity for people to get to know each other,” he said.

“We hope to connect our citizens through the leadership of both cities,” Dusengiyumva said.

Smart cities and digital innovation

Dusengiyumva considers smart cities a shared focus between Rwanda and Korea, and he expressed a desire to work with Busan on smart city and AI initiatives.

“Busan’s progress in digital twins and AI integration is impressive. Kigali is already digitizing many of its services — 100 percent of construction permits are now processed online,” he said.

According to Dusengiyumva, Kigali leverages satellite imagery and drones for inspections and plans to adopt Busan’s integrated urban systems for improved water and infrastructure management.

The city is also developing Kigali Innovation City, a hub for academia, technology and investment.

“This is a landmark project for Rwanda — a place where science, education and industry come together to produce real, market-driven innovation,” said Dusengiyumva.

“We invite Busan investors to join this journey.”