Young Events Guru hails Rwanda’s efforts in promoting MICE tourism

The events guru made his appreciation on January 23, 2024, during the panel discussions at the 19th National Dialogue Council held at the Kigali Convention Center. Rwanda events, renowned for organizing events, conferences, and concerts was found in 2009 by Gakwaya while he was a student at university. Initially, Gakwaya was offering protocol services just for earning money to meet school expenses.

“In 2014, opportunities started emerging when the government established the Rwanda Convention Bureau. They offered us training which made us realize that MICE could be one of the pillars of the country’s economy,” Gakwaya, 38, said during the gathering.

Eventually, Rwanda Events expanded, from just three employees to current 60 full-time. The company also employs hundreds of part-time employees, especially during busy periods.

Improved MICE infrastructure

Gakwaya attributes the growth of Rwanda Events to the international conferences that Rwanda started hosting since 2014, including the ‘World Economic Forum on Africa- WEF Africa’, which provided significant learning opportunities and professional growth.

“This was like another door opened for us to change our operations, and prepare for the country’s future direction,” he added.

Between 2016 and 2019, the Rwandan government invested in infrastructure, including facilities like the Kigali Convention Centre, BK Arena, and emergence of Five-star hotels such as Kigali Marriott Hotel and others.

The Government of Rwanda also entered into agreements with events and conference owners including World Mobile Congress (WMC), Basketball Africa League (BAL) and Global Citizens ‘Move Africa’ to organize their events in Rwanda.

To leverage on these opportunities, Gakwaya noted that they approached the facilities management for forging collaborative relationships which bolstered the growth and sustainability of the business.

More efforts still needed

Gakwaya says that for continued growth of the MICE industry in Rwanda, there should be efforts not only to host conferences in Rwanda but also to compete internationally.
He urged the government to implement training programs in the industry, both short-term and long-term, for nurturing new developments and innovations.

Actors in the education sector were urged to conceive a methodology that can include such courses, basically at secondary schools for bridging skills gap occurring in the MICE industry.