RDB investment certificate application, for foreign founders
Become a registered investor with a plan RDB can approve
We check whether your project qualifies, write the business plan to the Rwanda Development Board's published criteria and file the application with proof of the USD 500 fee. You end up holding an investment certificate valid for five years, a tax-rate plan you can defend each year and a calendar for the reports that keep the status alive.
- An honest eligibility view before any money is spent on the file
- A business plan whose numbers agree from table to table
- One annual calendar for the RDB report and the tax return
Scope
What we do for you
The certificate, the icyemezo cy’ishoramari (investment certificate), is a second, voluntary step after incorporation. These are the tasks we take off your desk.
- Eligibility checkWe read your activity against the priority sectors in Article 4 of Law N° 006/2021 and the incentive conditions in the income tax law, and say plainly if the certificate will return less than it costs to hold.
- Incentive-rate planningWe pick the ground you can evidence each year: the 15% export test (at least 50% of turnover from exports of goods and services produced in Rwanda), a priority-sector rate, or the 3% regime with its substance tests.
- Business plan to RDB's criteriaProject description, action plan, sourcing, market survey, technology transfer, five-year income projections, jobs, loan schedule and key assumptions, laid out so a reviewer finds each criterion quickly.
- Application letterAddressed to the CEO of RDB, naming the enterprise, capital, jobs, waste management and the support you want with land, permits or utilities.
- Supporting fileCertificate of incorporation from ORG, sector licence where the activity is regulated, environmental impact assessment where the project needs one.
- USD 500 fee and payment proofWe give you the payment instructions for RDB's account at Bank of Kigali, in US dollars or the RWF equivalent, and place the proof in the file.
- Filing and trackingLicensed partners in Kigali submit through the one-stop centre portal. We answer RDB's questions and keep you informed in English or Russian.
- Annual investor reportingThe financial report to RDB within three months after each financial year (Art. 26), the evidence file for your rate and notice of changes 30 days in advance (Art. 27).
- Renewal at year fiveA new five-year investment plan and the renewal fee, prepared from the fourth year so the status does not lapse.
Sources: Law N° 006/2021 of 05/02/2021 on investment promotion and facilitation, Arts. 4, 17–19, 26–27, via UNCTAD Investment Laws Navigator; RDB, investment registration (rdb.rw/?p=1500, accessed October 2026); RRA, Investment incentives for registered investors (August 2023).
Process
How it works
Four steps. The only official deadline is RDB's two working days for a complete file. The other durations are our planning allowances.
- Within 2 working days
Eligibility and quote
You send the activity, expected profit, export share and shareholders. We reply with the incentive that fits, the government fee and our fixed fee in writing.
- Allow 1–2 weeks (our estimate)
Plan and file
We draft the business plan and letter while the company is incorporated or after it exists. You review the numbers. The USD 500 is paid and the proof goes in.
- 2 working days (Art. 18)
RDB decision
RDB decides on a complete file within two working days. A refusal comes with written reasons, and we correct and refile.
- On acceptance, then yearly
Certificate and calendar
RDB issues the certificate, valid five years. We set the report, tax and renewal dates and, where needed, start the investor permit.
The company comes first. RDB asks for the certificate of incorporation, so the isosiyete (company) is registered with the Office of the Registrar General before the application. Incorporation carries no government fee and is usually done within hours of a complete file, so we draft the plan in parallel. A regulated activity, such as a fund manager or a mining company, needs its sector licence before RDB will register it in that category.
The rate is earned year by year. The certificate makes the company eligible, the tax return claims the rate and the Rwanda Revenue Authority can test the claim in audit, five years back and ten where it finds evasion. That is why the rate plan sits next to the certificate and not inside a drawer.
Sources: Law N° 006/2021, Arts. 17–19, 22–27, via UNCTAD Investment Laws Navigator; Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr and ORG on incorporation time and fee; PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Rwanda, tax administration and incentives (reviewed 23/09/2026); PKF East Africa (2025) on BNR Regulation 89/2025.
The plan you file becomes the plan RDB measures you against for five years, and Article 22 lets it cancel a certificate when obligations are not met. We write a cautious plan the company can beat. Capital in the letter matches the funding table, headcount matches payroll, and the export share that justifies 15% matches the revenue split.
Comparison
Doing it yourself, or with us
The application form is short. The work sits in the plan, the rate conditions and the years after.
| Task | On your own | With Voixa |
|---|---|---|
| Deciding whether to apply | Online sources still quote USD 250,000 as a minimum. It is the three-hire threshold, and there is no minimum capital. | A written view on whether the certificate pays off, pays off later or is worth having for permits and facilitation. |
| Choosing the rate | The 15% rate is a list of sectors, each with its own test, and some depend on criteria in other laws. | We check the condition for your activity and confirm with RDB where a product's subsector is unclear. |
| Business plan | Seven evaluation criteria and five-year tables that a reviewer reads across. | A plan built around the criteria, with figures reconciled before filing. |
| Filing and questions | Portal access, payment proof and replies to RDB from abroad. | Filed through licensed partners in Kigali; we draft every reply. |
| Evidence for the rate | Service exports leave no customs record. The file is built from contracts, invoices and receipts from abroad. | A quarterly export schedule tied to the VAT returns and bank receipts. |
| Annual RDB report | Due three months after year-end, to a different authority from the tax return. Easy to miss. | On the same calendar line as the tax return and the accounts. |
Sources: RDB (rdb.rw/?p=1500, accessed October 2026); RRA, Investment incentives for registered investors (August 2023); Law N° 006/2021, Arts. 22 and 26.
Profiles
Who this is for
Three illustrative profiles. None of them is a client.
A software studio exporting services
Engineers in Gasabo, clients in Europe and the Gulf, most turnover invoiced abroad. The export test is the cleanest route to 15%.
Read the break-even maths → AkarereA manufacturer or agro-processor
A plant in the Special Economic Zone or a province, needing land, utilities, an environmental certificate and foreign staff. Early registration is the point.
Read the procedure → UmusoroA holding run from Kigali
A group that will really manage African investments from Kigali and can carry the office, staff and spending behind the 3% rate.
Read corporate tax →The shareholder's country changes the result after Rwandan corporate tax. Dividends bear 15% withholding without a treaty and 7.5% to a qualifying UAE company. Germany, the UK and Russia have no treaty with Rwanda; Rwanda's double tax treaties lists the 13 in force. German company documents also need legalisation, because Germany objected to Rwanda's Apostille accession.
Sources: PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Rwanda, withholding taxes (reviewed 23/09/2026); HCCH, Apostille Convention status table (objection by Germany of 28/03/2024).
Questions
What founders ask before they sign
What will this cost?
The government fee is USD 500 or its RWF equivalent. Our fee is fixed and quoted in writing within two working days, once we know the activity and the incentive you are aiming at. A renewal fee applies at year five.
How long does it take?
RDB decides on a complete file within two working days (Art. 18). The plan is the longer part. We allow one to two weeks for drafting and your review, which is our estimate, and documents from abroad move at the speed of the issuing country.
Do I need to travel to Kigali?
Not for the application. It is filed online through licensed partners in Kigali. A visit makes sense when you choose a site or plant, and any nationality can get a visa on arrival.
What if RDB refuses?
A refusal comes with written reasons (Art. 18). We address each point RDB names and refile. If the project does not fit an incentive, we tell you before filing, so the refusal never comes as news.
What documents do you need from me?
The company's details and incorporation certificate, a description of the project, funding sources, a hiring plan, suppliers and markets, and any sector licence. We send a list tailored to your activity.
Is the 15% rate guaranteed once I hold the certificate?
No. It applies in each year the company meets its condition. An exporter below 50% of turnover in a year does not get 15% for that year. RRA's guide describes a 25% band for 30% to 50%, limited in time.
Can we work in Russian?
Yes. Advice is in English and Russian. The plan and the application are filed in English, which is what RDB reads.
What happens after the certificate is issued?
The annual report to RDB, the evidence for your rate and notice of any change 30 days in advance. With USD 250,000 invested, the company may hire three foreign employees without a labour-market test, and the founder can apply for an investor permit.
Sources: Law N° 006/2021, Arts. 18, 19, 26, 27; RDB (rdb.rw/?p=1500, accessed October 2026); RRA, Investment incentives for registered investors (August 2023); DGIE, visa on arrival (migration.gov.rw).
Fixed quote
Tell us about your plan
We reply within two working days with the steps, the government fees and our fixed fee in writing.
Your enquiry
Guides
Read before you decide
Investment certificate
Procedure, documents, business plan and guarantees under Law N° 006/2021.
Read more → IshoramariIs the certificate worth it
15% instead of 28%, with break-even arithmetic and three illustrative profiles.
Read more → UmusoroCorporate tax
The 28% standard rate, every incentive rate, instalments and filing.
Read more →Sources for this page: Law N° 006/2021 of 05/02/2021 via UNCTAD Investment Laws Navigator; RDB, investment registration (rdb.rw/?p=1500, accessed October 2026); RRA, Investment incentives for registered investors (August 2023); PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Rwanda (reviewed 23/09/2026); HCCH Apostille Convention status table; October 2026.