I remember when people used to talk about Rwanda only in the past tense. I remember when our aspirations were expected to be quiet, modest, and small. But there was one man who refused to let the world dictate our boundaries, that’s President Paul Kagame.
Long before the world could see what we were capable of, President Kagame had a vision for this country that felt almost daunting in its scale. He did not just ask us to rebuild; he asked us to look at the global stage and believe that we belonged there.
What started as an unbelievable dream decades ago has become the ground we walk on every single day.
When Kigali hosted the 2025 UCI Road World Championships, bringing the pinnacle of global cycling to African soil for the very first time in history, I felt a lump in my throat. Watching the world’s elite riders climb the hills of Kigali, surrounded by thousands of us cheering at the top of our lungs, something shifted inside me.
We used to think hosting events of that scale was “shooting for the stars.” But when it actually happened, and when we pulled it off with world-class excellence, it unlocked a new truth in the heart of every Rwandan, a truth that tells the Rwandan people that there is nothing on this earth too big for them.
Now, as the world buzzes with news of the “Rwanda Grand Prix,” a $270 million Formula 1 circuit rising next to the new Bugesera International Airport to bring F1 back to Africa, I can only smile.
To the outside world, it is a high-profile sports headline. To us, it is years of hard work and disciplined, masterful, purposeful planning. It is our leader placing our country right where it belongs, at the heart of Africa and at the centre of global events.
And yet, what makes me admire President Kagame most is not just the global spotlight. It is that he never built a “showcase” nation. He built a resilient one. He knew you cannot build a strong society on “vibes” alone.
He built it by cutting national poverty from 58.9% down to 27.4%. He built it by laying fibre-optic cables through all 30 districts so that a child in a rural village has the same high-speed internet as someone in Kigali.
He built it with universal healthcare, Irembo, the RDB One Stop Centre, smooth roads, clean streets, and a vibrant economy where any young Rwandan who puts in the work can actually aim for a dignified life.
To stand in Rwanda today, feeling the energy of our thriving MICE industry, our basketball arenas, our digital transformation, and now the roar of Formula 1 engines on the horizon, is to feel an overwhelming sense of pride.
Critics will analyse us, but results do not lie. President Kagame did not just transform our infrastructure; he transformed our mindset. And the most breathtaking part of it all? This is not the finish line. Given his boundless vision, this is just one chapter in the story of a reborn, rising nation.
