ENSafrica Rwanda is a corporate law firm based in Kigali.

We are uniquely placed to guide investors through unfamiliar commercial environments, and we have the expertise, experience and resources required to execute large, complex mandates in the Great Lakes region for investors and local clients alike.

We have unrivalled experience in banking and finance, tax, corporate commercial, mining, TMT (technology, media and telecommunications), intellectual property, employment and commercial dispute resolution, property and real estate.

We are the only fully multilingual law firm in the country, with the ability to assist you in French, English, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi and Kiswahili.

Our practitioners are not only authorities in civil and common law, but they also have relevant sector and industry knowledge and are well versed in the political, economic, regulatory and legal environments which nuance doing business in Rwanda, Burundi and beyond.

We have more than a dozen staff members and our client base includes major banks and financial institutions, major telecom companies, multilateral institutions, international investors, listed and non-listed multinational corporations, government, mining houses, energy companies, and international NGOs.

We have the unique advantage, as part of Africa’s largest law firm, of being able to harness the expertise of more than 600 practitioners throughout the continent. ENSafrica has a significant breadth and depth of experience and specialist expertise that spans all commercial areas of law, tax, forensics and IP.

As such, we regularly partner with specialists across the firm, meaning that we are able to assist with all aspects of all matters across all sectors in all African jurisdictions, ensuring that your legal requirements are handled quickly and seamlessly.

Our key differentiator is that we operate as one firm across Africa. All of our offices are fully integrated and work as one team. By leveraging the complementary expertise, skills and resources of each of our offices, work is always done by the practitioner who can do it best, at the most affordable rate.

Our corporate commercial team advises on various matters, including business structuring, shareholders arrangements, corporate governance, drafting and negotiation of constitution documents and various commercial agreements, business reorganisations, and mergers and acquisitions.

Our tax team advises and assists client on various tax matters ranging from transfer pricing and thin capitalisation rules and taxation of intra-group transactions in general, business reorganisations, tax structuring in light of DTAs to which Rwanda is a party, VAT on cross-border service and intangible transactions, taxation of business transfer transactions, securing advance tax rulings, and representation of clients in tax disputes before the tax administration and Rwandan courts.

Our banking and finance team advises on various matters, including bilateral and syndicated financing transactions, derivative transactions, and financial sector regulation.

Our infrastructure and project development team assists various clients, including developers, finance parties, and sponsors involved in energy, transportation and real estate development projects. Our experience includes drafting and negotiating various project documents such as power purchase agreements (corporate and utility scale), rooftop lease agreements, EPC contracts, concession agreements and land documents.

Our labour and employment team advises and assists clients on matters including collective dismissal of employees due to business restructurings, drafting employment contracts for senior, medium-level and junior employees, restraint of trade, employee stock ownership plans and other benefits schemes, and representing clients before the labour inspectorate and Rwandan courts.

Our competition law team advises on various aspects of competition law such as vertical and horizontal agreements, abuse of dominance, unfair competition, and merger control both under national and EAC and COMESA laws.

Our charitable organisations team advises various charitable organisations on various aspects, including structuring their establishment in the Republic of Rwanda, drafting and negotiating agreements critical to their operations such as host country agreement and memorandum of understanding with relevant ministries, taxation of charities, and employment of expatriates.

Our dispute resolution team represents clients before all levels of State courts, and in arbitration and other dispute resolution forums. The team has represented clients in precedent-setting disputes, including taxation of business transfer transactions, setting aside arbitral awards, and application of VAT on cross-border supply of services.