Rwanda Competition and Consumer Protection Law 2026 What Businesses Must Change

Rwanda’s Law 011/2026 of 26 February 2026 took effect when it was published on 4 March 2026. It creates a modern framework for competition, merger control, market inquiries and consumer protection. The law is relevant to day-to-day sales and distribution as well as acquisitions.

Agreements between competitors

Businesses should control contact with competitors. Price fixing, market or customer allocation, coordinated output and bid manipulation are obvious risks, but exposure may also arise through information exchange. Current or forward-looking information on prices, margins, customer strategy, capacity or bids can reduce competitive uncertainty even without a written agreement.

Trade associations need a written agenda, competition protocol and reliable minutes. Participants should not allow legitimate industry topics, such as standards or policy submissions, to become a forum for discussing individual commercial strategy.

Distribution and vertical arrangements

Vertical agreements operate between different levels of the supply chain, such as manufacturer and distributor or platform and seller. Review exclusivity, resale-price restrictions, territorial or customer allocation, tying, non-compete provisions, discriminatory access and most-favoured-customer clauses. Context matters: market power, duration, coverage and the practical ability of rivals to reach customers can affect risk.

Commercial teams should be able to explain the legitimate objective of a restriction and why a narrower term would not work. Boilerplate copied from a global template may be unsuitable for the local market.

Abuse of dominance

Dominance is not prohibited. Abuse is. A strong business should review loyalty rebates, refusal to supply, margin compression, discriminatory terms, predatory pricing, tying and exclusionary conduct. Product, legal and finance teams should document the cost and commercial basis for pricing schemes and access decisions.

RICA’s market-inquiry powers also mean that conduct can be examined at sector level even without a single infringement complaint. Businesses in concentrated or fast-growing digital markets should expect scrutiny of data, interoperability, platform access and switching barriers.

Merger control

The law provides for merger notification and review, conditional approval, publication and revocation. Control may arise through a share purchase, business or asset acquisition, joint venture, minority veto rights or a move from joint to sole control. Group restructurings and staged acquisitions should not be assumed to fall outside the regime.

Parties should analyse the transaction before signing, confirm the current thresholds and procedure, and reflect regulatory clearance in conditions precedent and long-stop dates. Do not exchange competitively sensitive information more widely than due diligence requires. Use clean-team arrangements where the parties compete.

Consumer rights and e commerce

The statute addresses misleading conduct, price display, distance contracts and other consumer rights. A Rwanda-facing website or app should make the seller’s identity, material product features, total price, payment method, delivery, cancellation and complaint process clear before the customer commits.

Prices should be displayed clearly in Rwandan francs and in accordance with the tax and charge rules. Avoid pre-ticked optional purchases, hidden recurring charges, unsupported savings claims and cancellation paths that are materially harder than sign-up. Environmental, health, performance and origin claims should be supported before publication.

A compliance programme for the new law

1. Audit distribution, reseller, franchise and platform terms.

2. Review pricing and discount approval rules.

3. Adopt competitor-contact and trade-association protocols.

4. Add competition analysis to acquisitions and JVs.

5. Create clean-team rules for competitive due diligence.

6. Rewrite online terms, checkout disclosures and complaints processes.

7. Substantiate advertising and promotional claims.

8. Train sales, procurement, product and senior management.

9. Preserve records supporting pricing and commercial decisions.

10. Give staff a route to escalate concerns before action is taken.

The authoritative text is the Official Gazette publication of Law 011/2026.

Questions for commercial teams

Can a supplier recommend a resale price? A genuinely non-binding recommendation is different from enforcing a fixed or minimum resale price, but the agreement and conduct must be examined under the new law. Pressure, incentives and monitoring can matter as much as the wording.

Is exclusivity always prohibited? No. Risk depends on market context, duration, coverage, foreclosure and justification. The business should understand why exclusivity is needed and whether a narrower term would achieve the same objective.

Does a minority investment require merger review? It can. Rights that confer control or material influence can be relevant even without majority ownership. Confirm thresholds and control before the rights become effective.

Can the website rely on global consumer terms? Only if they comply with Rwandan requirements and accurately describe the local transaction. Currency, seller identity, taxes, delivery, cancellation and complaints should match the Rwandan offer.

Managing the transition

Prioritise high-risk arrangements: competitor collaborations, exclusive distribution, pricing controls, digital-platform rules and planned acquisitions. Create a contract inventory with the commercial owner, market, duration, restriction and next renewal date. Remediate conduct as well as wording; an amended agreement will not cure a sales team that continues to enforce an unlawful practice.

Board and senior management oversight are important because penalties, remedies and transaction delays can affect strategy. Competition and consumer review should become a standard gateway for new products, routes to market and corporate development.