Three places that dream of becoming Africa’s Singapore

SMALL, LANDLOCKED and with few natural resources, Rwanda lacks an obvious route to riches. But a new international financial centre in Kigali, its capital, offers a clue to the government’s strategy. It has passed new laws to encourage investment and signed agreements with financial centres as far afield as Morocco and Belgium. The idea is to “position Rwanda as a gateway to the rest of Africa”, says Nick Barigye, chief executive of Rwanda Finance Limited, the agency that is driving the project.

Kigali (pictured) is one of several cities in continental Africa that are trying to become financial hubs to capture some of the business that currently flows through offshore centres such as Mauritius. Kenyan officials signed an agreement with the City of London as part of a plan to launch a financial centre in Nairobi. Ghana is drafting laws to create one of its own; Sampson Akligoh, an adviser to the finance minister, says Accra can become a hub for everything from pension funds to private-equity firms, like a Singapore for west Africa.