Clare Akamanzi is a
Rwanda
Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...
n lawyer, public administrator, businesswoman and politician, who served as the executive director and chief executive officer of the
Rwanda Development Board
Rwanda Development Board (RDB), is a government department that integrates all government agencies responsible for the attraction, retention and facilitation of investments in the national economy.
Overview
The Rwanda Development Board (RDB) was ...
From February 2017 to September 2023.
The position is a
cabinet-level
A cabinet in governing is a group of people with the constitutional or legal task to rule a country or state, or advise a head of state, usually from the executive branch. Their members are known as ministers and secretaries and they are ...
appointment by the
President of Rwanda
This article lists the presidents of Rwanda since the creation of the office in 1961 (during the Rwandan Revolution), to the present day.
The president of Rwanda is the head of state and head of executive of the Republic of Rwanda. The presi ...
. She has been appointed as the new chief executive officer for
NBA Africa
NBA Africa is the African branch of the U.S.-based National Basketball Association (NBA) basketball league organization, which focuses on its business interests on the African continent. The entity was established in 2021 and co-organizes the Bas ...
, following a resignation by the former CEO Victor Williams.
Background and education
Akamanzi was born in
Uganda
Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
to Rwandan refugee parents in 1979. She is the fourth-born in a family of six siblings. She attained pre-university education in various parts of Uganda. The family moved a lot, because her parents were refugees in Uganda.
She is married and is a mother to two children. She holds a
Bachelor of Laws
A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...
, awarded by
Makerere University
Makerere University (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922, and the oldest currently active university in East Africa. It became an independent national university in ...
, in
Kampala
Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...
, Uganda's capital city. She also holds the
Diploma in Legal Practice
A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offi ...
, obtained from the
Law Development Centre
The Law Development Centre (LDC) is an educational institution in Uganda for higher learning that offers various legal courses ranging from one month to one year.
Overview
The LDC is the only institution in Uganda that offers the Bar Course lead ...
, also in Kampala.
Her
Master of Laws
A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject.
In many jurisdi ...
in trade and investment law was obtained from the
University of Pretoria
The University of Pretoria (, ) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and ''de facto'' capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 as the Pretoria campus of the Johan ...
, in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
. She also holds a
Masters in Public Administration
A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the i ...
, obtained from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
, in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...
, in the United States.
She received an honorary degree in Laws from
Concordia University
Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...
in June 2018.
Career
She began her career in 2004 in
Geneva
Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
,
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
at the
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...
(WTO) headquarters. The
government of Rwanda
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a mea ...
appointed her as a diplomat/special trade negotiator at the WTO. Later, she transferred to the Rwandan embassy in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
as the commercial diplomat (
commercial attaché).
She returned to Rwanda in 2006 and was appointed Deputy Director General of the then ''Rwanda Investment and Export Promotion Agency'' (RIEPA) "before RDB was merged with other institutions in 2008".
In 2008, Akamanzi became the Deputy chief executive officer responsible for Business Operations and Services, at RDB.
She later transitioned to being the chief operating officer of the Rwanda Development Board.
She then took study leave to pursue graduate studies in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.
When she returned, she served as "Head of Strategy and Policy" in the President's Office.
In 2020, the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...
(WHO) announced that Akamanzi was one of the founding board members of the
WHO Foundation
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has 6 regional offices and 150 ...
.
On 27 December 2023, it was announced that Akamanzi will hold the position of the CEO of NBA Africa starting from 23 January 2024.
Other activities
* Africa Europe Foundation (AEF), Member of the High-Level Group of Personalities on
Africa-Europe Relations (since 2020)
Publications
* In the Trenches: Open for Business
* RWANDA'S PUSH FOR FIVE-STAR DEVELOPMENT: AN INTERVIEW WITH THE CEO OF THE RWANDA DEVELOPMENT BOARD ON THE PRESENT AND FUTURE OF RWANDAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
* DEVELOPMENT AT CROSSROADS: THE ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT NEGOTIATIONS WITH EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICAN COUNTRIES ON TRADE IN SERVICES
See also
*
Valentine Rugwabiza
References
External links
Website of the Rwanda Development Board*https://twitter.com/cakamanzi?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
*https://www.linkedin.com/in/clare-akamanzi-6a46a783?originalSubdomain=rw
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akamanzi, Clare
Living people
1979 births
Government ministers of Rwanda
Makerere University alumni
Law Development Centre alumni
University of Pretoria alumni
Harvard Kennedy School alumni
21st-century Rwandan businesspeople
Women government ministers of Rwanda
21st-century Rwandan women politicians
21st-century Rwandan politicians
21st-century Rwandan businesswomen