President Paul Kagame on January 13, appointed Jean-Guy K. Afrika as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Rwanda Development Board (RDB). Afrika takes over from Francis Gatare, who was reassigned on December 21, 2024, to the Office of the President as a Senior Advisor.
Afrika has been serving as Acting Director of the Regional Integration Coordination Office at the African Development Bank (AfDB) since December 2021.
The appointment positions him as a key figure in driving Rwanda’s economic development and investment promotion agenda.
Afrika comes to RDB with a wealth of experience in public policy, regional integration, infrastructure finance, and project management.
Who’s Afrika?
Afrika is an accomplished professional with extensive experience in public policy, regional integration, infrastructure finance, and project management.
Afrika holds a Master of Arts degree in International Commerce and Policy from George Mason University. He is also an alumnus of executive programs in trade, leadership, and negotiations from prestigious institutions such as the Harvard Kennedy School, Oxford University, and the Graduate Institute of Geneva. Prior to his recent appointment, he served as Officer-in-Charge of the Regional Integration Coordination Office at the African Development Bank (AfDB).
According to AfDB, in his role as Officer-in-Charge, Afrika managed the day-to-day operations of the Regional Integration Coordination Office and reported on the strategic performance of the Bank’s $13 billion regional integration portfolio.
During his tenure, he refined the department’s operational mandate, enhanced coordination mechanisms, and strengthened collaborations with key partners, including the African Union, Regional Economic Communities, and the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Afrika’s efforts led to a significant increase in the pipeline of regional projects funded by the Bank’s concessional window, adding over $1 billion.
He also played a pivotal role in structuring one of the Bank’s largest regional operations: the $555 million Central Africa Republic-Congo (Brazzaville) Multimodal Transport Project, co-financed with the Development Bank of Central African States.
Since joining AfDB in 2010, Afrika has held various roles in departments such as Agriculture and Rural Infrastructure, NEPAD Regional Integration and Trade, and Industrialization and Trade Development.
He contributed to the design, appraisal, and implementation of over 35 projects spanning sectors like trade facilitation, transport, energy, agriculture, and private sector development.
Additionally, in collaboration with the African Union, he spearheaded the creation of key regional integration knowledge products, including the Africa Regional Integration Index and the Africa Visa Openness Index.
Before his tenure at AfDB, Afrika worked as a Senior Policy Expert at the East African Community and as Director of Export Promotion at the Rwanda Investment & Export Promotion Agency. In these roles, he contributed to policy and institutional reforms that improved Rwanda’s business environment and sustained export growth.
At the East African Community, he facilitated the adoption and implementation of protocols, policies, and regulations that advanced regional integration among partner states.
RDB is a government institution mandated to fast-track economic development in Rwanda by enabling private sector growth. It oversees investments, tourism promotion, and skills development, making it a cornerstone of Rwanda’s Vision 2050 goals.