How to Invest on the Rwanda Stock Exchange

Less than 20 years ago, the world watched as a paroxysm of genocidal violence wracked Central Africa’s land of a thousand hills. If ever there was a place bereft of hope, Rwanda was it.

Yet, to the world’s astonishment, the country refused to settle for merely rebuilding. Instead, it opted to transform.

Now, investors from both near and far have an opportunity to support Rwanda’s improbable economic success. The nascent Rwanda Stock Exchange (RSE) is open for business.

Less than 20 years ago, the world watched as a paroxysm of genocidal violence wracked Central Africa’s land of a thousand hills. If ever there was a place bereft of hope, Rwanda was it.

Yet, to the world’s astonishment, the country refused to settle for merely rebuilding. Instead, it opted to transform. Rwanda’s economy has expanded at a 7.8% pace for the past ten years, and neighbor is slowly, cautiously learning to live with neighbor once more.

Now, investors from both near and far have an opportunity to support Rwanda’s improbable economic success. The nascent Rwanda Stock Exchange (RSE) is open for business.

Here’s a quick guide to opening a Rwandan trading account and buying your first shares.

Rwandan Stockbrokers

I emailed each of the ten brokers who are licensed to trade on the RSE. I asked them if they catered to foreign investors, how much they required to open an account, and what documentation was necessary. I found the three brokers listed below to be particularly helpful and responsive.

Broker Minimum Initial Deposit Account Opening Form Research Sample
African Alliance Rwanda No minimum required Not Available Online Not Available Online
CDH Capital No minimum required Here Not Available Online
Faida Securities Rwanda No minimum required Not Available Online Not Available Online

Trading Costs

Commissions and fees amount to 1.71% of the total transaction value. This rate is standard across all brokers.

Note that the exchange requires that trades be for a minimum of 100 shares.

Opening a Rwandan Brokerage Account

Now let’s walk through the process of opening an account with a Rwandan stockbroker and buying your first shares.

Step 1: Complete the CSD Account Opening Form

The Central Securities Depository (CSD) records the ownership of Rwandan securities via electronic accounts. When you ask a broker to open a trading account, they will send you a copy of the CSD Account Opening Form. After completing and returning it to your broker, you will be assigned a CSD account number. This number will accompany every Rwandan stock trade you execute, allowing the CSD to keep record of all your holdings in the country.

Step 2: Complete the Broker’s Account Opening Form

After your first email to the broker requesting information on how to open an account, they may also send you a blank account opening form, which is sometimes referred to as the “Know Your Client” or KYC form. A sample form from CDH Capital may be found in the above table. The form typically requires disclosure of your passport number or other ID number, your address, and a signature sample.

Step 3: Collect two photocopies of your passport and two passport-size photos.

Step 4. Mail the original CSD form, account opening form, passport photos, and photocopies of your passport to your broker

You may email photocopies of all documents to your broker to get a head start on the account opening process, but they must eventually receive the original documentation. I recommend using a courier for this. It’s pricey but could save you a lot of grief in the event that the post office loses track of your documents.

Step 5. Wire Funds to Your Brokerage Account

After opening your trading account, your broker will provide you with its bank details so that you can fund your account. The most efficient way to do this is via wire transfer. If you haven’t sent an international wire before, I suggest that you take your broker’s bank details to your local bank branch and ask them to walk you through the process. They’ll make sure that your funds arrive securely. Note that most US banks charge about $25 for outgoing international wires.

Step 6. Submit a Trade Order

You’ve done your research and found a stock that you’d like to buy. What now?

All that needs be done is to submit a written trade instruction. Some brokers may have a special trade mandate form to complete, but, for others, a simple email may suffice.

Keep in mind that many shares listed on the Rwanda Stock Exchange are rather illiquid, so I advise specifying a limit price for all of your orders. This will help you avoid paying significantly more for your shares than you had intended to pay.

Your broker will then execute your trade and send you a contract note that specifies the buy or sell price, commissions, and fees. Settlement of share trades takes up to three business days in Rwanda, so if you’ve sold shares, don’t expect to receive the proceeds of a sale before then unless you’re willing to incur a penalty to settle the trade more quickly.

An Important Note on Dividends

None of the Rwandan brokers that responded to me (except CDH Rwanda) would deposit dividends directly into a client’s brokerage account. You must instead opt to receive a dividend check denominated in Rwandan Francs or open a Rwandan bank account to collect the dividends. Because the teller at your local Wells Fargo branch will probably laugh in your face if you ever try to cash a Rwandan check there, your best option, unfortunately, is to open a Rwandan bank account.

Your broker should be able to assist you in connecting with a reputable bank and to help facilitate the account opening process. The CSD will be informed of your local bank details and will route all of your dividends there.

Mission Accomplished

Follow these steps and you’re all set to begin investing in Rwandan stocks. That wasn’t too bad, was it?

The process of opening a foreign brokerage account can be confusing. If you found this walk-thru to be clear as mud, please don’t be shy. Post your questions in the comments, and I’ll do my best to get answers for them.

Further Reading

How to Invest on the Botswana Stock Exchange

How to Invest on the Ghana Stock Exchange

How to Invest on the Nigerian Stock Exchange

How to Invest on the Zimbabwean Stock Exchange

16 thoughts on “How to Invest on the Rwanda Stock Exchange”

  1. Fantastic insight and guidance on Foreign stock investment. Makes things less daunting.

    Please share if you get to trade in other African markets.

    Great job.

  2. Thank you Sir! i have already bought Shares there because you are a specialist in Stock Market
    please tell me if i choosed well,i bought more than 4000 Shares in CTL,so my question is how do you see this Company and its Performance on the Market?
    let me know if there is a hope,i bought from this company because i attracted by its performance of
    2 Months.they launched shares on 105 after 2 months it was 125.

    Thanks
    hope to hear from you

    1. Thanks for your comment, George! I confess I haven’t looked at CTL very closely, but I know that it owns shares of MTN Rwanda and pays a decent dividend. MTN is a very strong company, and I suspect that CTL shares will perform well over the long-term (3-5 years). Be patient and look for opportunities to diversify your portfolio with shares of other companies, too. Happy investing!

  3. thank you for this information but i would like to ask you some questions
    -can i get that list of licensed stock brokers in rwanda that you ve contacted with there emails?
    -how can you compare the domestic investors compared to foreign investors on the RWANDA STOCK EXCHANGE?

    1. Hi Mr. Jack,

      You can find a list of licensed stockbrokers for Rwanda here:
      http://www.rse.rw/site/pages/rse+members/7

      The process for investing in Rwanda for domestic and foreign investors is similar. The main difference would be that there would be no need to wire money for domestic investors. You can simply make your initial deposit at the broker’s office or by sending a cheque.

      Hope this helps and happy investing!

  4. Super article thank you so much! But i have a question…As a foreign investor will i be able to but shares online with one of this brokers? Thanks!

    1. Hi Gashirwa,

      At present, no Rwandan brokers offer an online trading platform, but placing a buy or sell order is as simple as sending an email.

  5. hi
    I would like to ask

    how do you see the performance of BRL and that of BOK ?

    because I plan to invest in one of that company

    1. Hi Jean Pierre,

      At this point in time, I’d select BOK over BRL. BOK’s has consistently grown net income and book value per share, and you can buy it for less than the equivalent of 8x its earnings over the past twelve months.

      Bralirwa is a solid company, but it wrestles with substantial capital expenditure requirements and actually sold less beer in 2017 than it did in 2016. Not a good trend.

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