*Ashish J. Thakkar Global Entrepreneurship Index

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1 FIRM BROCHURE

2 THE PRACTICE Considered to be Rwanda s leading business firm, Trust Law Chambers has a track record of providing practical, quality advisory and dispute resolution support to a variety of large high-profile domestic, regional and international clients. Since its inception in 2005, the firm has handled some of Rwanda s most prominent transactions. Our lead partners - Richard Mugisha (Senior Partner) and Apollo Nkunda (Managing Partner) share a unique entrepreneurial approach to the advice we give clients, having played leadership roles in large domestic and regional corporates. Testament to our firm s expertise and reputation as a go-to firm, in the areas of banking & finance, capital markets, construction, disputes, energy, infrastructure, PPPs & projects, mergers & acquisitions and corporate & commercial law, the firm has been recognised for many years by leading legal directories such as the prestigious Chambers Global. In fact, Chambers Global recently named us as one of Rwanda s leading business firms in its 2018 report saying, This firm is renowned for its vast expertise across a plethora of industries, including mining, finance, real estate and infrastructure. The team continues to grow its litigation practice in addition to offering substantial transactional capabilities. It serves both local and international organisations and is a regular feature of some of the most significant deals undertaken regionally. 2

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4 THE LOCATION We are proud to be based in Rwanda (the land of a thousand hills) which is hailed for having the best business environment in East Africa due to its labour market, flexibility, public sector performance and business transparency*. Ranked second in Africa in the 2018 World Bank Doing Business report and cited for having one of the world s fastest growing economies, it continues to present an abundance of investment opportunities. Opportunities we feel are further multiplied by its membership in among others, the Africa Union, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, the East African Community and the World Trade Organisation. Seen by some as a gateway to East Africa due to its geographic positioning, it is also a melting pot of cultures and we are proud to reflect this diversity in how we communicate as a firm, in English, French and Kinyarwanda. 4

5 Rwanda is unique as it has a mixed justice system incorporating both common and civil law; our team of lawyers has a thorough understanding of these systems, the local players, multi-industry experience and first-hand knowledge of the culture. Our offices are in Kigali the country s capital city and investment hub which is generally considered as one of Africa s cleanest, fastest growing and safest modern cities. We try to reflect this modernity in how we work - with agility, simplicity and pragmatism. *Ashish J. Thakkar Global Entrepreneurship Index 5

6 THE ADVANTAGE We are known for providing clear, commercial, practical & timely advice Our team of lawyers is multidisciplinary, with experience across a broad range of sectors We offer clients a full-service offering covering both contentious and non-contentious work We have experience working on large-scale complex crossborder matters as well as some of Rwanda s most significant regulatory matters We have extensive contacts in the East African region and beyond (through non-exclusive collaborative relationships with some of the world s best firms) in anticipation of providing clients with seamless cross-jurisdictional advice Our Senior Partner Richard Mugisha and Managing Partner Apollo Nkunda bring critical business regulatory expertise to our practice, with Richard having acted as the Chairman of the Business and Apollo as a member of the Business Law Reform Commission (reviewed all legislation affecting the Rwandan commercial environment) Our team consists of exceptional lawyers, some of whom have been named severally as Rwanda s finest by leading legal directories such as Chambers Global and IFLR Case in point, three of our partners were ranked by Chambers Global 2018; Richard Mugisha and Apollo Nkunda were cited as Band 1 lawyers (General Business Law) and Richard Balenzi as an Up and Coming lawyer 6

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8 THE WORK We have represented several clients on landmark corporate and commercial deals and disputes. Some examples include: A Syndicate of seven Rwandan Banks, regarding their lending of a US$ 17.5 million loan to a telecommunications company ADB, EAIF and FMO, as the arrangers and lenders of a syndicated loan of US$ million to a power company. We provided local law advice, prepared and reviewed the transaction documents Atlas Mara, during its acquisition of a majority stake in Banque Populaire du Rwanda (BPR (Rwanda s second largest bank)) and the subsequent merger of BPR with BRD Commercial China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), on Kigali s largest residential project (dubbed Vision City project) with 4,500 units where we advised on among other aspects, the construction agreement, contractual and labour matters Equity Bank Ltd (a leading regional bank with operations in the DRC, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania & Uganda), in relation to a US$ 24 million loan to a Rwandan airline Gigawatt Global Ltd (Gigawatt), on an 8.5 MW solar project (arguably the biggest solar energy project in East Africa). Our advice covered energy law aspects and the related syndicated facility of US$ 21.2 million obtained by Gigawatt from the EAIF, the NorFund and FMO IFC, on its issuance of Rwandan franc-denominated notes issued by the IFC under its Pan-African Domestic Medium Term Note Programme. We were part of a larger team where our role was to among other things, give advice on the Rwandan financial and capital markets regulatory framework OPIC, in a transaction where they were acting as Guarantor to the PTA Bank who had taken a credit facility of US$ 59 million from the Private Export Funding Corporation (we were part of a larger legal international team advising on the matter; our advice was focused on the local law aspects) Rabobank, on its acquisition of 35% equity in BPR 8

9 The Government of Rwanda, on the contract for the design and supervision of works, as well as advice on claims for the Kigali Convention Centre (one of Rwanda s largest and most iconic buildings), Kigali Convention Hotel and Kigali IT Park The Government of Rwanda, during the negotiations relating to the privatisation of African Continental Bank (BACAR) and Banque Commerciale du Rwanda (BCR) in order to ensure the success of the transaction The Government of Rwanda, on its sale of 19.8% shares in I&M Bank Rwanda The Government of Rwanda, on the different Memoranda of Understanding with the Government of Uganda and Tamoil (a leading European downstream company). This was in relation to an oil pipeline project running from Kampala to Kigali Two European Banks, in respect of a US$ 400 million Government of Rwanda sovereign bond 9

10 KEY CONTACTS Richard Mugisha Senior Partner M: +(250) T/F: +(250) E: Apollo M. Nkunda Managing Partner M: +(250) T/F: +(250) E: Moise Nkundabarashi Partner M: +(250) T/F: +(250) E: Richard Balenzi Partner M: +(250) T/F: +(250) E: 10

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12 T: +(250) E: KG 569 ST, TLC House #4, Kacyiru P.O BOX 6679 Kigali, Rwanda Connect with us on social media LinkedIn: Trust Law Chambers