July 18, 2022: Government of Rwanda and UNICREDIT BANK AUSTRIA signed a financing agreement through worth EUR 7.5 million (Approximately Frw 7.5 billion) for the establishment of a TVET Centre of Excellence in the Kigali Special Economic Zone.

The centre of excellence will enable establishment of a modern and highly efficient dual training program which will be a model for industrial-academia linkages that allows exchange of training facilities such as workshops and equipment for mutual benefits.

It will also allow students to learn and acquire modern and high-tech skills being applied in industry and aligned to the current and future technologies and innovations; exchange of academic staff and industrial sector experts between the school and companies to enhance the skills needed for the modern labour markets.

Speaking after the signing ceremony, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Dr. Uzziel Ndagijimana noted that establishment of the TVET centre of excellence will boost the Government of Rwanda’s existing initiatives towards developing applicable skills that meet labour market demands through TVET.

“This financing comes to support human capital development priorities under our National Strategy for Transformation especially by enrolling at least 60% of students into TVET schools and scaling-up the number of TVET graduates with skills relevant to the labor market,” Minister Ndagijimana said.

Former Austrian Chancellor Dr. Alfred Gusenbauer noted that the financing agreement presented a starting point for a deeper cooperation between Austria and Rwanda.  “Sustainable cooperation between the new countries would lead to import of the technology, knowledge transfers and employment opportunities to Rwandans. We look forward to exploring other areas of cooperation,” Dr. Alfred Gusenbauer said.

According to the financing modalities, 15% of the US$ 7.5 million (or EUR 1.125,000) will be a grant. The financing facility will be guaranteed by Oesterreichische Kontrollbank AG (OeKB) on behalf of the Republic of Austria at 0% interest rate, with a payment period of 18.5 years after a grace period of 8.5 years.