Rwanda is tightening its grip on capital market professionalism by relaunching a strategic partnership with the UK-based Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment, a move that signals Kigali’s intent to boost investor confidence and align its regulatory framework with global norms.
The Capital Market Authority of Rwanda renewed its collaboration with CISI through a fresh memorandum of understanding signed at the institute’s London headquarters. The deal, inked during a high-level visit organized by The City UK under the Kigali International Financial Centre Skills Council initiative, sets a new benchmark for financial services education and regulatory licensing in one of Africa’s fastest-growing financial markets.
The agreement introduces a three-tier licensing framework for capital markets practitioners, centered on CISI’s International Introduction to Securities & Investment qualification, a revised Rwanda Regulatory Assessment, and a tailored technical component. It also establishes continuing professional development (CPD) as a requirement for license renewal, a first for Rwanda’s capital markets.
CISI Chief Executive Tracy Vegro said the institute would support the CMA with a “premium suite of qualifications” and lifelong learning tools to raise standards across the industry. “Enhanced standards, skills and knowledge are crucial in building a professional financial services sector and essential in maintaining consumer trust and confidence,” she said in a statement.
CEO of CMA Rwanda, Thapelo Tsheole, called the pact “a significant milestone” in the regulator’s strategy to embed ethical and technical competence into its licensing regime. The framework supports the implementation of Rwanda’s Capital Market Long-Term Development Strategy and feeds into broader efforts to position Kigali as a credible international financial hub.
The relaunch underlines CISI’s growing footprint across Africa as a strategic partner in capital market capacity-building, and comes amid a broader push by Rwandan authorities to plug financial sector skills gaps as the country chases its ambition of becoming a gateway to regional investment.
