Policy paper

UK–Rwanda development partnership summary, July 2023

Published 17 July 2023

This was published under the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government

Introduction

The Strategy for International Development (IDS) places development at the heart of the UK’s foreign policy. It sets out a new approach to development, anchored in patient, long-term partnerships tailored to the needs of the countries we work with, built on mutual accountability and transparency. This approach goes beyond aid and brings the combined power of the UK’s global economic, scientific, security and diplomatic strengths to our development partnerships. Our 4 priorities are to deliver honest, reliable investment, provide women and girls with the freedom they need to succeed, step up our life-saving humanitarian work, and take forward our work on climate change, nature, and global health. The Integrated Review Refresh (IR23) reiterates that sustainable development is central to UK foreign policy and sets out how the UK will go further and faster on development to reduce poverty and reinvigorate progress towards the SDGs. This Country Development Partnership Summary details how the IDS and IR23 will be put into practice with Rwanda.

Country context

Rwanda has delivered impressive development outcomes as it recovers from the Genocide Against the Tutsi in 1994. Since 1998, the UK has provided over £1 billion of development assistance, which has helped to lift more than two million people out of extreme poverty.

Economically, Rwanda has averaged around 8% growth in recent years, but remains one of the world’s poorest countries. As in most countries, COVID-19 negatively impacted the economy: food prices are rising, inflation is currently 21%, and government debt has increased. The Government now needs to balance supporting recovery, continuing development, and strengthening public finances. The 2022 census data projects that Rwanda’s population will grow from 13 million today to over 23 million by 2050, underlining the importance of building strong public services and infrastructure.

Politically, Rwanda has significant convening power and influence across Africa. Rwanda is current Chair-in-Office of the Commonwealth, plays a leading role in the African Union (AU), and is one of the biggest troop contributors to United Nations (UN) peacekeeping. The Government sets high ambition on objectives important to the UK such as climate, green growth, and the rights of women and girls.

Rwanda’s Vision 2050 sets the long-term strategic plan for the country with an over-arching aim to become an upper middle-income country by 2035 and a high-income country by 2050. The First National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) sets out the detailed steps to achieve this vision during the period 2017 to 2024. The UK’s development assistance is fully in line with Vision 2050 and NST1. We are now working with the Government, and other development partners, to plan for NST2.

Rwanda continues to use development finance well, both in terms of results achieved and accountability for its use. Transparency International judges Rwanda among Africa’s least corrupt countries, while recent Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability and Auditor General assessments demonstrate a strong public financial management system. Effective governance remains one of the priority reform areas of NST1.

Rwanda has been a historically low emitter of carbon but is already impacted heavily by climate change. It has set out an ambitious climate action agenda that features a 38% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, compared to business as usual by 2030. Rwanda is a regional climate leader, sharing lessons on tackling the worst climate impacts and using climate funding most effectively. Ten years ago, the Rwanda’s Green Fund was established with UK support and is now a leading agency greening Rwanda’s development and convening public and private climate financing.

Why and how: the UK’s development offer with Rwanda

We have shifted our development approach from large-scale financial aid and service delivery to targeted technical assistance, policy influencing and enhanced UK-Rwanda partnerships.

Our vision is a broad and deep partnership that delivers both Rwandan and UK priorities and supports ambitious goals of girls’ education and women’s empowerment, self-financed by cleaner, greener, inclusive growth and underpinned by free and democratic institutions.

To date, we have delivered impressive results with Rwanda. In 2021, the UK reached over 20,000 households with direct social protection support through Government systems. We worked in every government-funded school to reach 4.2 million primary school children. English proficiency in grade 3 increased from 16% in 2017 to 46% in 2021 and we helped 42,000 English and maths teachers improve their skills. However, 2023 will be the last year that we support country-wide service provision. From 2024, we will pivot to focus on girls’ education in the lowest performing schools, specifically addressing the cultural and policy changes required to ensure that girls stay in school and learn. We will also increase our support to inclusive education, assisting children with disabilities to access school and learn. We work closely with British Council to align our priorities on education and skills.

We are continuing our work to support the most marginalised and vulnerable through the social protection sector that we helped the Government to design in 2007. The focus is increasingly on graduating people from support, though the COVID-19 pandemic has set back progress.

We are working to support Rwanda’s high ambition on women and girls. We address access to sexual and reproductive health and ending gender-based violence through policy engagement and our Centrally Managed Programmes (CMPs). In 2023, Rwanda will host the Women Deliver conference in Kigali. This will be a key opportunity to build coalitions to protect and advance the rights of women and girls.

We are supporting trade and investment through British Investment Partnership (BIP) vehicles such as UK Export Finance and British International Investment (BII), to increase the value of trade between Rwanda and the UK and promote a healthy environment for investment. Rwanda has been invited to participate in the UK-African Investment Summit 2024 and benefits from the UK Developing Country Trading Scheme. We are building understanding of the context for UK firms in Rwanda and tackling the challenges they face, including through dedicated engagement from the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Rwanda. Our bilateral programmes are leveraging private investment in the tea sector (one of Rwanda’s top exports) and supporting crucial infrastructure projects to boost trade. We are working with the UK Centres of Expertise and other CMPs to bolster Rwanda’s private sector development in manufacturing, agriculture, research, and innovation.

On climate and environment, we are focusing on policy engagement with Rwanda, particularly on COP28 and through the Commonwealth. The UK and Rwanda co-chair key international fora such as the National Determined Contributions Partnership (NDC-P) and the Taskforce for Access to Climate Finance. We are showcasing the full UK climate expertise, for example through the opening of an innovative African Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Cooling to ensure sustainable cool supply chains (funded by the UK Government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), working with UK universities) and we are working with Rwanda to prepare for carbon trading with support from the UK Government’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. We are supporting Rwanda’s increased access to climate finance through our £7 million investment to leverage private sector funds. In addition, we are working with Rwanda to get access to better data on weather systems, and to ensure that NST2 is fully green.

The Rwandan Government prioritises good governance and accountability to citizens. The UK is assisting the Government through technical assistance on public finance management, and direct secondments of international experts – HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) tax advisers are embedded in the Rwandan Revenue Authority (RRA) and statistical experts from the UK Government’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) are embedded in the Rwandan National Institute for Statistics (NISR). We also support Rwandan civil society organisations through grants to support citizen engagement and accountability, advance human rights and support progress on freedom of expression.

We are supporting Rwanda to work towards compliance with international tax transparency standards to support the global effort to combat illicit financial flows and our experts are supporting data analytics and organisational change in the RRA.

In 2022, we supported Rwanda to deliver its first digital census through our ONS partnership. This is a valuable contribution to the development of Rwanda’s statistical system and its ability to provide reliable and trustworthy data to support good governance and decision-making. We have also helped NISR set up its own data science campus which will facilitate its modernisation strategy.

For more than a decade, we have been supporting the Government of Rwanda to strengthen their public financial management capacity. The contribution of our programming is highlighted by recent findings from the Rwandan Office of the Auditor General, reporting that 12 out of 28 districts received clean audits on financial statements, and audit coverage is now at 95% – a significant improvement compared to earlier years.

Defra are funding the Africa Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold-chain (ACES) to work with the University of Rwanda, UK universities and the UN to deliver a Centre dedicated to sustainable cooling and cold-chain for safe food and better health.

Our development goals in Rwanda for 2023 are as follows:

Human development, women and girls

• Rwandan girls stay in school, vulnerable out-of-school girls are supported back into education and all girls learn foundational skills
• the poorest in Rwandan society are supported to lead dignified lives and build their resilience through targeted social protection
• inclusion is fully institutionalised in policy, programming, and UK activities
• UK Government partnerships and programmes are leveraged in humanitarian and health to protect those most in need and support Rwanda to champion the rights of women and girls domestically, regionally, and internationally

Climate

• Rwanda achieves its climate ambitions, exerts regional leadership, and reduces the impact of climate shocks on the most vulnerable

Governance

• stronger and more accountable government systems at national and local level drive poverty reduction and increase respect for human rights and freedom of expression

Economic

• Rwanda’s economy becomes more productive, resilient, and sustainable, delivering growth that enables poverty reduction and increases opportunities for trade and mutual prosperity

Who we work with

We work extensively with Rwandan Government Ministries and Agencies. There is excellent co-ordination between Development Partners (DPs) in Rwanda at Head of Agency level with regular meetings. There are quarterly meetings between DPs and Government, chaired by the Minister of Finance, plus an annual retreat between DP Heads, Finance Ministers, and Permanent Secretaries from all Rwandan line ministries. Sector Working Groups (SWGs) are all co-chaired by a DP and the relevant Government Ministry. The UK co-chairs the Education and Basic Education SWGs, alongside the Ministry of Education and UNICEF. We act as coordinating agent for the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), facilitating collaboration and communication between GPE and DPs. The UK also co-chairs the Social Protection SWG, alongside the Ministry of Local Government (MINALOC).

Rwanda receives funding from the World Bank (the largest source of Official Development Assistance (ODA) in Rwanda), the African Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund, Gavi the Vaccines Alliance, the Global Fund, and the Global Partnership for Education. The UK is a contributor to all these multilateral agencies and we work closely with them in Rwanda and through our UK office.

Along with the World Bank and the UN, the UK leads a working group of economists drawn from across DPs (bilateral, multilateral and international financial institutions) to provide analysis, and inform discussions between DPs and the Government.

We are building relationships with the Rwandan private sector and increasing links with UK firms to grow exports of coffee, tea, and horticulture. We are also working with the Prime Minister’s trade envoy to Rwanda to increase UK awareness of investment opportunities in Rwanda, including IT services, mining, and infrastructure. BII has a Memorandum of Understanding to provide support to Rwanda Finance Limited as they develop the Kigali International Finance Centre.

We also work closely with Rwandan civil society organisations to support citizen engagement and accountability, advance human rights, and support progress on LGBT+ and wider inclusion issues.

Key programmes

• Learning For All (LFA) 2015 to 2023, £88 million, supported improvements in learning outcomes and access to primary education in all government-funded schools in Rwanda. It combined non-budget support financial aid with a programme of technical assistance
• Exiting Poverty in Rwanda (EPR) 2019 to 2026, £54.5 million, is providing financial aid and technical assistance to the Government of Rwanda to build and scale-up a more effective, sustainable, self-financed, and inclusive social protection system, helping the poorest to manage shocks and exit from poverty
• Girls in Rwanda Learn (GIRL) 2023 to 2029, £60 million, will support marginalised girls to return to school, stay in school and learn. It will operate in 50% of the poorest performing schools in Rwanda and is expected to lead to learning improvements in 700,000 children
• Strengthening Public Financial Management and Revenue Collection in Rwanda (SPARC) 2018 to 2025, £18 million, supports the Government of Rwanda to improve systems, culture, and capability to manage public expenditure and domestic revenues. A second component of the programme includes technical advice for government as well as accountable grants for civil society in support of citizen voice in policy debate and social accountability
• Support to Trademark (East) Africa (TMA) 2017 to 2023, £25 million, works to reduce barriers to trade and improve business competitiveness. Currently in Rwanda, the UK funds TMA (in collaboration with the Netherlands and the Rwanda Transport Development Agency) to construct port facilities on Lake Kivu, and the design of the Kigali Wholesale Market for Fresh Produce
• Sustainable Inclusive Livelihoods through Tea Production in Rwanda (SILTPR) 2017 to 2025, £11.8 million, drives job creation and increases incomes by supporting smallholder farmers to produce tea in line with best practice, becoming dependable suppliers of greenleaf tea to existing factories and 2 new factories
• Taskforce for Access to Climate Finance (CMP): 2023 to 2028, £7 million, is a global initiative chaired by the UK and Rwanda which aims to address barriers to accessing and making best use of climate finance. Funding to Rwanda will be used to support Ireme Invest – an innovative private sector investment window, increasing the sources of funding for tackling the worst impacts of climate change
• Centrally Managed Programmes (CMPs): 80 CMPs currently operate in Rwanda and we have developed an engagement strategy to provide proportional and effective support to relevant programme managers in FCDO and ensure effective delivery for Rwanda. Total CMP expenditure in Rwanda in financial year 2023 to 2024 is over £11 million

Financial information

Initial allocations have been set internally to deliver the priorities set out in the International Development Strategy (May 2022) and the Integrated Review Refresh 2023, based on the FCDO’s Spending Review 2021 settlement.

The department’s spending plans for the period 2022 to 2023 to 2024 to 2025 have been revisited to ensure HM Government continues to spend around 0.5% of Gross National Income (GNI) on ODA. This was in the context of the significant and unexpected costs incurred to support the people of Ukraine and Afghanistan escape oppression and conflict and find refuge in the UK, and others seeking asylum. The Government provided additional resources of £1 billion in 2022 to 2023 and £1.5 billion in 2023 to 2024 to help meet these unanticipated costs. The Government remains committed to returning ODA spending to 0.7% of GNI when the fiscal situation allows, in line with the approach confirmed by the House of Commons in July 2021.

The country development partnership summaries include the breakdown of programme budgets allocated to individual countries for 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025. These allocations are indicative and subject to revision as, by its nature, the department’s work is dynamic. Programme allocations are continually reviewed to respond to changing global needs, including humanitarian crises, fluctuations in GNI and other ODA allocation decisions.

It should be noted that these figures do not reflect the full range of UK ODA spending in these individual countries as they do not include spend delivered via core contributions to multilateral organisations, or regional programmes delivered by the FCDO’s central departments. Other UK Government departments also spend a large amount of ODA overseas. Details of ODA spent by other UK government departments can be found in their Annual Report and Accounts and the Statistics for International Development.

FCDO bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocation in Rwanda

Allocated ODA budget financial year 2023 to 2024: £14,423,000

Indicative ODA budget financial year 2024 to 2025: £32,000,000

Bilateral ODA programmes

In financial year 2022 to 2023, all our ODA spend in Rwanda is principally or significantly focused on promoting gender equality and 88% is principally or significantly focused on disability inclusion.

Figure 1. FCDO sector spend financial year 2023 to 2024: Humanitarian Preparedness and Response, 57%; Women and Girls, 19%; Investment and Growth, 16%; Climate and Nature, 5%; Governance and Institutions Critical to Broader Development, 3%.

International Programme Funds (IPF)

Our IPF funds blend ODA and non-ODA to support small national Civil Society Organisations with grants to improve, protect, and advocate for better human rights and progress on LGBT+ rights and inclusion.

Figure 2. International Programme Funds (IPF) budget financial year 2024 to 2025, £150,000; IPF Budget financial year 2023 to 2024, £65,000