RWANDA – The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund, the lending arm of the African Development Bank Group, has approved a partial credit guarantee to support Rwanda’s mobilization of financing to implement green and social initiatives.
The Partial credit guarantee for mobilizing sustainable financing for the Rwanda project will enable the country to raise €200 million (US$214.145m) competitively from international commercial banks, diversifying its funding sources.
Rwanda will allocate the proceeds to eligible renewable energy, climate adaptation and mitigation, disaster risk reduction and management, biodiversity conservation, energy efficiency, forestry, food security, health and wellbeing, affordable housing, and access to social services projects, among other things.
“This operation demonstrates how countries can leverage their African Development Fund resources innovatively to secure long-term financing for development,” said Ahmed Attout, Bank Group Acting Director for Financial Sector Development.
“This guarantee will unlock sustainable financing for Rwanda while crowding in new capital providers, thereby contributing to the diversification of its funding sources.”
This aligns with Rwanda’s National Strategy for Transformation (NST-1) for 2017-2024 and Vision 2050. It will also establish the country as a credible, sustainable borrower by building a track record in the international financial markets.
The financing aligns with Rwanda’s Sustainable Finance Framework, which sets out how funds can be deployed, processes for selecting and evaluating green and sustainable projects, and project reporting in line with global best practices.
“The operation will help mobilize financing for investment in target sectors aligned with the objectives of the Bank Group’s Ten-Year Strategy (2024-2033) on accelerating inclusive green growth and driving prosperous and resilient economies in Africa, as well as with Rwanda’s National Strategy for Transformation and Vision 2050,” added Mrs. Aissa Touré, the Bank Group’s Country Manager for Rwanda.
This credit guarantee comes weeks after the African Development Fund approved a US$11.96 million Grant to speed up the establishment of the African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation, headquartered in Kigali, Rwanda.
The financial support from the African Development Bank Group’s Regional Public Good window, together with a contribution of US$1.93 million from the Rwandan government, is intended to implement the Regional Pharmaceutical Sector Support Project in Rwanda.
The support from the African Development Fund should help improve access to advanced pharmaceutical technologies and strengthen the regulatory framework of the pharmaceutical industry in Africa.
The African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation, whose creation was approved in June 2022 by the African Development Bank Board of Directors, signed a host country agreement with the government of Rwanda, where it is based, in December 2023.
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