On 20 May 2019, Rwanda was admitted as a member of the
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
("OECD") Development Centre, becoming
the first East African country to join the Development Centre.
Founded in 1961, the OECD Development Centre is an independent
platform that enables developed economies to interact, share
knowledge and have policy dialogues with developing economies.
Rwanda's application was submitted in November 2018 after
cabinet approved the bid for membership. Seeking to be a regional
business hub, Rwanda has, over the years, improved its ranking in
the World Bank's Doing Business 2019 report and is currently
ranked 29th, improving by 11 places from the 2018
rankings. In the 2017/2018 period alone, Rwanda implemented seven
new reforms to improve the regulatory framework of doing business
in the country.