Fairbanks was speaking on Saturday, July 5, at the Rwanda Convention 2025 in Dallas, Texas, a gathering of Rwandans in the diaspora attended by high-ranking officials, including Foreign Affairs Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe.
A central theme of his message was the contrast between dysfunctional and thriving value chains. Drawing from a personal experience in Colombia, Fairbanks illustrated how closed systems, lack of accountability, and absence of competition can stifle economic development.
"In Colombia," he said, "everyone in the leather supply chain blamed someone else for failure, from the ranchers to the tanneries, until the blame landed on the cows themselves. They said, 'We have dumb cows.' That's when I knew the problem wasn't the cows, it was a broken system with no incentive to innovate or cooperate."
In Rwanda, Fairbanks noted, the opposite is true. 'We embrace competition as a positive force,' he said. 'Even when we fail, we learn why we failed.'
He highlighted several key characteristics that have enabled Rwanda's value chains to flourish. Among them is a spirit of healthy competition, where open market dynamics and clearly defined rules encourage innovation and raise the standard of quality across industries.
Fairbanks also pointed to the strength of cultural continuity, an enduring sense of shared identity among Rwandans, including those in the diaspora. This deep-rooted connection fosters strong bonds of trust and purpose, a phenomenon he described using political scientist Francis Fukuyama's term, 'spontaneous sociability.'
Another defining trait is collective accountability. In contrast to his Colombian case study, where stakeholders deflected blame at every level, Rwandans tend to confront challenges directly and take ownership of outcomes.
Finally, he emphasised the nation's optimism and clarity of vision. Rwanda's well-structured governance and unified national goals provide a roadmap that aligns stakeholders and drives coordinated progress.
'You pay your taxes better than most, you believe in the future, and you know where you're going. That's why Rwanda's value chains are workingâ€"and why the future is so bright.'
He also commended the diaspora for preserving Rwandan culture, citing traditional games and shared experiences that kept communities connected across borders.
'Whether in Congo, Burundi, Uganda, or Brussels, Rwandans played the same games and ate the same food. That unity matters,' he said.
The Rwanda Convention in Dallas is a diaspora-led initiative aimed at strengthening ties between Rwandans abroad and their homeland, recognising the diaspora's vital role in national development through investment, remittances, and knowledge exchange.
Wycliffe Nyamasege
