The Challenge

The Republic of Rwanda suffered heavily during the civil war in 1990 and the subsequent 1994 genocide. Although its economy is rebounding, food insecurity remains a significant problem, exacerbated by the high density of the population, of which some 90 percent are employed in subsistence farming. Rwanda’s 2012 Human Development Index gives the country a rank of 167 out of 187 countries.

How We Are Helping?

UNCDF is helping Rwanda meet its development challenges by promoting community empowerment through infrastructure development and service delivery. The Projet d’Appui au Développement Communautaire de Gicumbi et Rulindo (PADC/GR) aims to promote sustainable community development through better infrastructure and greater availability of basic services to the Gicumbi and Rulindo districts in the Northern Province. UNCDF is supporting the government in applying previously developed national guidelines for public expenditure management at the local level.

In Rwanda, UNCDF is also implementing its Gender Equitable Development (GELD) programme, which aims at strengthening local government’s capacities in gender planning and budgeting, and – in partnership with ICLD – the International Joint Training Programme to Strengthen Local Government in Support of Local Development in Southern and Eastern Africa, which aims at enhancing capacity of the local governments to support sustainable local development, poverty reduction and the achievement of the MDGs.

In inclusive Finance, Building an Inclusive Financial Sector in Rwanda (BIFSR), focuses on inclusive finance for rural and urban areas. Supported both by UNCDF and UNDP, the programme aims to strengthen capacities and establish a strong framework for the implementation of Rwanda’s national microfinance strategy.

Finally, two UNCDF global inclusive finance programmes are operational in Rwanda: the Least Developed Countries Fund for savings-led market leaders for inclusive finance (MicroLead), which aims to increase access to financial services for low-income populations in LDCs; and YouthStart, which aims to increase access to financial services for young people.

In Detail