President Paul Kagame has urged the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) to urgently address persistent inefficiencies in the one stop center, warning that continued delays in issuing business permits undermine the platform’s core objective of easing investment and commercial activity.
The president raised the concern during the 20th national dialogue council (Umushyikirano), following testimony from a young entrepreneur who described prolonged delays in securing operating licenses despite using the one stop center system.
Muvunyi Cheyenne told the forum that she has been self-employed in Rwanda for six years and founded a hair oil processing company, Glow Force, but continues to face challenges in obtaining the necessary permits.
She said repeated applications have resulted in lengthy delays and bureaucratic back-and-forth, preventing her business from operating at full capacity.
Responding to the concerns, RDB chief executive officer Jean-Guy Afrika said the one stop center was established to address delays that previously hampered business registration and licensing by bringing multiple services under one roof.
However, President Kagame questioned whether the platform was functioning as intended, urging responsible institutions to identify and fix the underlying problems.
Prime minister Dr Justin Nsengiyumva acknowledged the shortcomings and said concrete measures are being taken to resolve the issue.
He said the government instructed the Ministry of Trade and Industry to harmonise requirements from all regulatory institutions, including REMA, RSB and Rwanda FDA, so that applicants deal with a single, unified list of requirements.
“The problem is not the absence of the one stop center, but the fact that each institution still applies its own separate conditions,” he said.
He assured participants that the issue would be resolved conclusively.
The one stop center has previously been the subject of criticism at national forums. During the 18th Umushyikirano held in February 2023, President Kagame publicly faulted RDB for slow service delivery, saying the platform was falling short of expectations.
At the time, then RDB chief executive officer Clare Akamanzi acknowledged coordination challenges among institutions operating within the one stop center, noting that delays often occurred when agencies took too long to issue required information or approvals.
She attributed the problem partly to weak system integration across institutions and pledged reforms to ensure investors and citizens would no longer face unnecessary delays.
In March 2023, RDB launched an upgraded one stop center platform, integrating services from 23 government institutions.
The platform provides access to business registration services, quality certification from the Rwanda Food and Drugs Authority, export-related permits from the National Agricultural Export Development Board, regulatory approvals from the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority, civil registration services from RICA, immigration services, higher education-related permits, among others.
Despite these reforms, concerns raised at the latest Umushyikirano suggest coordination gaps remain, prompting renewed calls from the president for swift and effective action to ensure the one stop center delivers fast, predictable and investor-friendly services.
