Rwanda

Lead Academic(s):

Rwanda is a small, landlocked country in the East African Community. In recent years, macroeconomic stability and leadership, alongside reform of the investment environment, have been the biggest drivers of Rwanda’s growth. Rwanda has moved rapidly up the Doing Business index in 2010: it is now ranked 67 out of 183 globally in terms of Ease of Doing Business and is ranked 5 out of 46 in Sub-Saharan Africa (only behind Mauritius, South Africa, Botswana and Namibia). The government’s zero tolerance policy on corruption has also played a large role in helping to improve business confidence in the country.

Given Rwanda’s landlocked status, the government has emphasized infrastructure development and regional integration as key to the country’s growth. The government has also been looking to other developing countries for ideas on how to attract private sector investment and sustain growth, and draws inspiration from countries such as Botswana, China, Dubai, India and Singapore.

The IGC held preliminary discussions with the Government of Rwanda in March 2010 to discuss possible areas of collaboration and hopes to develop a partnership in the months ahead.

Rwanda

Growth Week - current agenda
Adam Robert Green

Please download the current agenda for Growth Week, subject to modifications. Day time sessions are now closed. 4.30 pm and 6.30pm sessions are open to the public on a first-come first-serve basis.

IGC-Rwanda: June Country Visit
Richard Newfarmer

Gobind Nankani and Richard Newfarmer visited Rwanda in late May and June, and met with President Kagame to consolidate initial plans to begin an IGC program in Rwanda in the autumn, 2010. The IGC team met with several members of the economic cabinet to discuss possible programatic areas of focus (see accompanying memo on the second visit). IGC has invited the Institute for Policy Analysis and Research to be our counterpart organization in Rwanda. During the fall, it is expected that IGC and the Government will put together a more formal MOU and a strategy that will support the government's economic program to foment growth.

Social networks, phone money transfers, and rainfall shocks: Evidence from Rwanda (Finance programme)
Marcel Fafchamps

Economic shocks can have painful effects on the world’s poor, who lack social safety nets and other formal institutions for credit and insurance. Marcel Fafchamps (Oxford University), Nathan Eagle (MIT) and Joshua Blumenstock (University of California, Berkeley) investigate the different ways through which the mobile phone can help reduce the adverse impacts of risk and income volatility in developing economies

Update

24th March 2010
Initial Visit to Rwanda

IGC Executive Director Gobind Nankani conducted an initial scoping visit to Rwanda, with and IGC Fellow Diane Mak, from March 11-12 to initiate a Rwanda Country Programme.