Returning Tutsis help rebuild Rwanda

KIGALI, Rwanda — Ben Rugangazi, born in exile from his native Rwanda, has returned with the money and business savvy to help rebuild the nation a decade after one of the worst genocides in history.

This Rwandan businessman, a member of the minority Tutsi tribe who spent his first three decades as a refugee, now governs large chunks of Rwanda’s small economy from a modest office in the capital city.

Like many returning Tutsis, Mr. Rugangazi has experience outside Rwanda that is helping to bring business back to the impoverished African nation.

“Rwanda has been a backward place, and we saw opportunities in business that Rwandans who stayed here had not seen,” said Mr. Rugangazi, the chief executive officer of Tristar Investments, a company allied with the ruling party of President Paul Kagame.

Rwanda’s economy has stabilized in recent years, returning to pre-genocide levels, although poverty remains high and the nation has a poor transportation infrastructure. The gross domestic product has rebounded, and inflation has been eased, according to the CIA World Factbook.

Mr. Rugangazi and other returning entrepreneurs hope to build on the progress.

Tristar has numerous ventures in Rwanda, including one subsidiary that built an entirely new section of Kigali. Another partnered with a South African multinational to bring cellular-phone service to this nation of 8 million people. Inyange, a food-processing firm, puts yogurt, mineral water and juice on Rwandan tables. And Intersec, a security company, protects many major buildings.

Many like Mr. Rugangazi hold powerful positions in Rwanda, beginning with Mr. Kagame, who spent most of his life in neighboring Uganda.

Ten years after a regime dominated by the majority Hutu ethnic group killed 800,000 Rwandan Tutsis and their Hutu sympathizers, these Tutsis now constitute the bulk of the ruling elite. They also are the most dynamic entrepreneurs.

Rwanda’s Tutsis were Africa’s original refugees. When Belgium, Rwanda’s dominant colonial power, pulled out in 1959, a series of Hutu regimes drove out an estimated 800,000 Tutsis. Most settled in neighboring countries — Burundi, Uganda and Congo (then called Zaire). In 1986, they formed the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) to fight for the right to return to Rwanda and helped end the 1994 genocide.

The RPF’s seizure of power was the signal for Rwandan Tutsis to return to the country they barely knew. People like Mr. Rugangazi jumped at the chance to get in on the ground floor.

Many had gained valuable experience in business, especially those who were in Uganda with Mr. Kagame. Faustin Mbundu, 39, a refugee who worked in Uganda’s coffee and tea industry, returned to Rwanda in late 1994 and was tasked by the new regime with rehabilitating Rwanda’s coffee sector. Once Rwanda’s key export, it had come to a standstill during the genocide.

“Why did I come back?” Mr. Mbundu said. “Because I am part of Rwandan politics now.”

The rapid economic rise of the Tutsis is a sensitive subject for many Rwandans. It reminds many of the differences that once distinguished Hutus from Tutsis. The Tutsis, a tribe that probably originated in the Nile River valley, were cow herders. The Hutus, a grouping from central Africa, cultivated corn, beans and other staples. Because cows were a more valuable asset than produce, Tutsis tended to be richer and were the ruling elite.

As a colonial power, Belgium promoted Tutsis, but switched sides and gave Hutus the upper hand upon independence in 1959. Now, Tutsi returnees are the most prominent voices in business and government in Rwanda.

Allison Des Forges, a longtime Rwanda expert with New York-based Human Rights Watch, said the rapid rise of Tutsi refugees has not escaped the notice of the 84 percent of the country that is Hutu.

“The rich elite is not an [exclusively] Tutsi elite, though the perception of people is focused on the Tutsi who are rich,” she said.

Donald Kaberuka, Rwanda’s finance minister, sees the upside. He points out that, on a continent known for flight of capital, Rwanda’s Tutsi returnees brought back $25 million in 2003, according to Finance Ministry statistics. Because the genocide wiped out educated people, the returnees also supply much-needed skills to the country.

“We have had the return of people from diverse economic backgrounds,” Mr. Kaberuka said. “It has been a big plus for Rwanda.”

Mr. Rugangazi’s first memories are of life in a refugee camp in Uganda. Lacking land or animals, the traditional sources of wealth in Africa, the refugees turned to education to better themselves. In the camps, they founded schools that became the envy of the locals.

Hard work landed Mr. Rugangazi a university education, and he became a veterinarian. But when the RPF began its military campaign, he began raising money to arm the RPF’s poorly equipped guerrillas. When they seized power in Rwanda in 1994, he followed to begin the rebuilding process for the country’s shattered infrastructure.

Tristar Investments was founded the next year by Mr. Rugangazi, with the RPF — now a political party — as the chief shareholder. The company began with construction, in an attempt to boost confidence in the country’s long-term prospects.

“The idea was to champion businesses with a developmental outlook,” he said.

Mr. Mbundu, the coffee entrepreneur, is pursuing a similar path. Rwanda has grown coffee for decades, but always has served the low-price segment of the market. Mr. Mbundu hopes to anchor Rwanda’s position in a more high-value business.