Service Delivery and the Emergence of an Entrepreneurial Class in Rwanda’s Regional Service Centres.

Abstract

The government of Rwanda aims to transform the country from an agricultural based to an industry and services based economy by 2020. Entrepreneurship stimulation in rural areas is one of the major objectives for the creation of employment in the non-agricultural sector. The literature shows that local economic development can be enhanced through the support of new entrepreneurs by providing infrastructure. Regional service centres are a product of the Rwandan government’s efforts to stimulate rural development through the delivery of services in some particular rural settlements. This thesis offers a characterization of three regional service centres in Rwanda with respect to service delivery after one and a half decade of implementation. A high diversity of services is available in the centres but these are not in all cases universally accessible. Above all, finance and loans are inaccessible to many because people lack collateral. Despite the lack of finance, entrepreneurs in the centres state that the availability of different services was a prerequisite for them to start an enterprise. Instruments for further development of enterprises are missing as entrepreneurs lack finance, are heavily taxed and appear to have very limited influence on policy.