Africa offers more opportunities for investments than ever before, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Dr. Uzziel Ndagijimana has said. 

Minister Ndagijimana attributed this rise to Increasing young population, middle class, unprecedented ICT penetration, regional integration, the African Continental Free Trade Area, and the improving business environment.

Officiating at the ongoing 14th Africa Development Fund (ADF) midterm review in Kigali, Minister Ndagijimana lauded the important role African Development Bank (AfDB) through ADF continues to play on the African continent and particularly in Rwanda. He underscored that it was crucial for the Fund to sustain its support to the Africa’s development journey. 

Since 1974, AfDB has cumulatively approved 98 loans and grants amounting to US$ 1.65 billion to Rwanda of which, 97% were financed through the concessional ADF window.  The largest share of this support has been allocated to infrastructure - mainly transport and energy (31.7%), agriculture (24.9%), and the social sector (17.1%).  

In the last 2 decades, Rwanda has made good progress in these sectors and ADF has its share in these achievements: In the energy sector, access to electricity increased from about 2% in 2000 to 48% today; agriculture grew by 5% on average, and the economy grew at an average of 8%. 

Africa together with the rest of the world has committed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), whose achievement requires significant investments, especially in Africa and other developing countries.

A recent analysis by the International Monetary Fund shows that achieving the SDGs will require spending additional $520 billion by low-income countries, many of which are in Africa, in many sectors, including infrastructure. 

“It is evident that a significant replenishment of the ADF is needed more than ever before, and I call upon all the contributors to the Fund to consider this new context, and support the African development agenda, which is beneficial not only for Africa but also for the rest of the World,” Minister Ndagijimana said.

ADF is the concessional financing window of the AfDB that provides low income Regional Member Countries with concessional loans and grants, guarantees as well as technical assistance for studies and capacity building in support of projects and programs that spur poverty reduction and economic development. It has cumulatively invested $45 billion over its 40 years of operations on the African continent.