Tribert Rujugiro Ayabatwa and Rwanda Investment Group

Tycoons form partnership

Date: 19th-May 2006

By Mansur Kakimba & Gertrude Majyambere
The New Times

Local business acumens have formed a partnership dubbed Rwanda Investment Group (RIG) S.A, with a core objective of identifying and investing in potential projects and enterprises.

By the end of their second meet on Monday, May 15 at Prime Minister’s conference hall, Kimihurura, RIG’s issued share capital had risen to Frw13.4billion from the Frw12billion raised on Friday, May 5 out of the 36 membership partnership.

Hatali Sekoko, Tribert Rujugiro and Caisse Sociale du Rwanda (CSR) become the majority shareholders each with 20% of the issued share capital, closely followed by Tri Star Investments with 10%.

The top four thus enjoy 70% stake in the company and the remaining 30% is shared among other thirty two shareholders in different proportions.

Coordinated and initiated by the Rwanda Private Sector Federation (RPSF), shareholders who are only Rwandan private businessmen and companies scrutinized the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will bind them in the partnership.

The Chairman of RPSF, Robert Bayigamba, Secretary General Emmanuel Hategeka and Chairman of RIG Tribert Rujugiro, coordinated the heated discussion of the MoU. They discussed ownership and transfer of shares, and discrepancies in the French and English versions of the memorandum among other things.

Also, partners never concurred on the criterion of choosing the Board of Directors. “The original idea was to have twelve shareholders with equal share of one billion francs to make up issued capital of Frw12bn, then the board would be selected on merit among the great twelve. “But where 70% of the shareholding is dominated by the top four, then the idea cannot work” argued Henry Gaperi, the representative of CSR in the deal.

PMS Holdings