Rwanda

At the heart of the Great Lakes region, Rwanda has been experiencing sustained growth for more than two decades to improve the living conditions of the population. The normalization of diplomatic relations between France and Rwanda has enabled AFD to resume its activities in 2019 and to reopen an agency in Kigali in 2021. AFD is working with the Rwandan government to support human capital development, finance economic development that promotes innovation and green growth and foster inclusive local development.
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AFD action in Rwanda
AFD and Rwanda: supporting an ambitious development trajectory for the benefit of the population
East africa regional office AFD Group

Supporting human capital development

Supporting human capital development in Rwanda, AFD

Supporting human capital development

In Rwanda, AFD supports the strengthening of human capital in the areas of education, vocational training and health.

With around 60% of the population under the age of 25, education and training for the youth are government priorities. AFD supports vocational training by financing a higher vocational training institution and TVET (Technical and Vocational Educational Training) schools in the Rulindo district to improve the employability of the youth. Support for the French language also helps to increase the professional assets of young Rwandans. Finally, AFD is supporting the deployment of the school sports policy through the Isonga program.

In the health sector, we have mobilized financing to contribute to the response to the Covid-19 epidemic.

Boosting economic development and supporting the private sector

Boosting economic development for innovation and green growth, AFD Rwanda

Boosting economic development and supporting the private sector

AFD is supporting the Rwandan government's efforts to develop new innovative services, mobilize the financial sector for green growth and diversify the economy.

Rwanda is a country that is particularly vulnerable to climate change and has made ambitious commitments in the framework of the Paris Agreement. AFD is working alongside national financial actors to support the financing of this voluntary trajectory, notably through support to the Rwandan Development Bank to enable it to fully fulfill its mandate as a national development bank.

The Rwandan government hopes to create 1.5 million jobs between 2017 and 2024. AFD is contributing to this through lines of credit and guarantees granted to Bank of Kigali, the country's main bank.

Supporting local development that strengthens essential services and social cohesion

Supporting local development that strengthens access to essential services and social cohesion

Supporting local development that strengthens essential services and social cohesion

AFD supports local development, which is notably based on the country's urbanization, as well as initiatives to strengthen social ties and improve access to essential services.

While 89% of Rwandans have access to electricity in urban areas, this rate drops to 23% in rural areas, where 83% of the population lives. To reduce these territorial divides, AFD is co-financing a program with the World Bank that aims to provide universal access to electricity for households in the Northern and Western provinces.

218.6
million committed between 2019 and 2021
3
cultural and creative enterprises run by women supported in their growth
2,100
student-athletes trained thanks to the Isonga programme

A landlocked and densely populated state in the Great Lakes region, Rwanda has experienced strong development since the end of the genocide against the Tutsis in 1994. Thanks to Rwanda's effective governance systems, economic growth has been sustained at 7.2% per annum over the past decade, allowing for significant social progress.

GDP per capita has grown at an annual rate of 5%, reducing the poverty rate. Health conditions have also improved thanks to the social security system, while Rwanda has almost reached the goal of universal basic education. Through proactive policies, the government has increased the diversification and attractiveness of its economy, notably through a favourable business environment.  

To achieve the objectives of its Vision 2050 project, Rwanda relies on funding and technical support from its development partners. The gradual normalisation of diplomatic relations between France and Rwanda, materialised by the visit to Rwanda of the President of the French Republic in May 2021, has made it possible to initiate a new phase of ambitious cooperation. It translates into the objective of increasing the total amount of French funding in Rwanda to nearly 500 million euros over the period 2019-2023.

AFD's Rwanda office is directly attached to the East Africa regional office in Nairobi.

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