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Tribert Rujugiro Ayabatwa Speaks Out on Prosperity-Creation in Africa's Continental Free Trade Area

Monday, 16 March 2020 09:25 AM

Tribert Rujugiro Ayabatwa is one of the few African business leaders manufacturing and trading across Africa, which is precisely what the continent needs to integrate its free trade area

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / March 16, 2020 / Tribert Rujugiro Ayabatwa has recently spoken out about his experience being one of the few businessmen trading in Africa. He was featured in The Africa Report for his work manufacturing consumer products in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, and Nigeria. Full Time and seasonal employment created by the Group runs into thousands of workers.

A top priority for the African Union is the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) deal. However, many speculate that in order for this to become a reality, Africa needs more business leaders that invest and operate beyond their domestic markets. As a successful businessman in Africa and beyond, Tribert Rujugiro Ayabatwa has many thoughts about this idea.

"It is true that the number of African businessmen and businesswomen who operate and trade outside their own national borders remain tiny. In order for Africa to prosper, this has to change," says Tribert Rujugiro Ayabatwa.

"Governments do not create prosperity. The private sector does. The business sector is the engine of wealth-creation, employment and innovation. And Africa is no exception. The task at hand, therefore, is to expand the ranks of African business leaders with a continental outreach."

Pan African Tobacco Group has been manufacturing and trading consumer products for 40 years. In the four decades of doing business, the company has expanded in central, eastern, western and southern Africa. Tribet says that the success of the company had to do with its belief that doing business is not merely about profits and becoming rich.

"The communities in which we operate must be assisted to uplift themselves," says Tribert.

"Children have to go to school. Communities must have access to basic needs such as water. Profits surrounded by poverty is not our way of doing business."

In addition to his reputation as a successful entrepreneur, Tribert Rujugiro Ayabatwa is known for his philanthropic work. He worked to create a nonprofit foundation to provide internship opportunities for African students to give them the practical, hands-on experience they need to succeed in today's job market.

"If I were to start all over again, I would be guided by the same belief that corporate social responsibility is as important as the profit motive. One cannot exist without the other," says Tribert Rujugiro Ayabatwa.

About Tribert Rujugiro Ayabatwa

Tribert Rujugiro Ayabatwa is a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist from Rwanda. He is the founder and controlling shareholder of Pan African Tobacco Group, Africa's largest indigenous manufacturer of tobacco products. The company manufactures cigarettes in nine African countries including Nigeria, Angola, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and the United Arab Emirates. Tribert Rujugiro Ayabatwa is also one of Africa's leading philanthropists. He has helped communities to uplift themselves in fields such as education and water-access. Through his non-profit foundation, Tribert also strives to help young people to gain the practical experience required to enter the job market in Africa.

Contact

David Himbara
[email protected]

SOURCE: Tribert Rujugiro Ayabatwa 

Topic:
Company Update
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