Sida's work in Rwanda
Sida's development cooperation in Rwanda aims to strengthen democracy and the environment, promote respect for human rights and contribute to increased employment. Despite economic progress in recent years, almost four out of ten people live in poverty.
Important thematic areas in Rwanda
Why aid to Rwanda?
Widespread poverty
Large parts of the population live in poverty. Unemployment is high and economic vulnerability is particularly severe for women, young people and people in rural areas. Despite progress in education and health, major challenges remain in providing people with more access to essential social services.
Limited freedom of expression
Respect for human rights has improved, but freedom of speech and association is restricted. This makes it difficult for civil society organisations, journalists and citizens to hold those in power accountable.
An unequal society
Rwanda has the highest proportion of women in parliament in the world and women hold high political positions. Nevertheless, gender equality remains a challenge elsewhere in society. Traditional gender roles and social norms hinder the country’s women and their economic empowerment. Gender-based violence is widespread.
Environment and climate
Rwanda is vulnerable to climate change, with increasing and recurring problems of drought and heavy rainfall. This destroys crops, land and infrastructure, negatively affecting people’s livelihoods. The country’s environmental problems affect its economic development.
Examples of what Sida has contributed
Strengthening free media and freedom of expression
Sida is contributing to the development of the Rwandan media sector. Sida’s support helps strengthen some 30 media organisations to produce better news journalism and to raise the status of female journalists in the sector. Journalism training at four Rwandan universities has been supported to better meet the needs of the media industry.
Increasing livelihoods for women and young people
Sida strengthens women’s economic empowerment. The aid also increases access to financial services for people who are not able to take out loans, such as women, young people, people who have fled, and businesses. This allows them to invest and to make savings.
Supporting the transition to green energy
Sida supports the establishment of green energy. Sida’s guarantee cooperation with the Rwandan Development Bank has mobilised lending of more than SEK 76 million to solar cell companies.
The Sida development cooperation in Rwanda
Sida’s work is intended to reduce poverty through increased employment and the green transition. It also aims to strengthen civil society, freedom of speech and free media, increase gender equality, and promote peace and reconciliation.
The memory of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi is still alive and the quest for national unity and consensus characterises policy.
The independence and capacity of the media to produce quality journalism remains weak. Civil society organisations have limited space and capacity to influence policy.
At the same time, gradual progress is being made. It is easier to scrutinise local politicians and decision-makers, and through various forums citizens can be involved and influence local policy decisions.
Rwanda has the first parliament in the world where women are in majority. At the same time, society is unequal with a deficient set of rights for women, and gender-based violence is common. Access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) needs to increase, such as young people’s knowledge of and access to contraception. Teenage pregnancies are a widespread societal challenge, and women and girls have limited access to abortion.
Sida supports projects that strengthen respect for human rights, contributes to peace and reconciliation, increases women’s rights and opportunities, and strengthens the role of women in society. Here are some examples of projects Sida supports:
Sida supports Kvinna till Kvinna and several Rwandan partner organisations to strengthen the position of women in society. The aim is to prevent gender-based violence while strengthening women’s political and economic position.
About Kvinna till Kvinnas work in Rwanda on the organisation’s website
SRHR is a controversial topic in the country. Normative, religious and cultural forces stand in the way of progress on issues such as contraception, abortion and sexually transmitted diseases. Through support to the Health Development Initiative (HDI), Sida contributes to strengthening the SRHR work in Rwanda.
Many people live with the trauma of the genocide, which risks being passed on to the next generation. There is progress in the work to reconcile and process the genocide. Sida cooperates with Aegis Trust, Interpeace and Never Again Rwanda. To counteract future interpersonal tensions, peace and values education is provided in schools, community dialogue and trauma treatment to heal psychological wounds.
While reconciliation efforts in Rwanda are progressing, civil society is struggling to address critical societal issues. Through support to the Public Policy and Information, Monitoring and Advocacy (PPIMA) programme, Sida contributed to increasing the participation of citizens in local decision-making and to strengthening civil society organisations working for human rights, environmental justice and gender equality up until 2024.
In cooperation with the Swedish Media Institute Fojo and Swedish Radio, Sida supports the development of the media sector in Rwanda. The project strengthens and develops the media, among other things through professionalisation in line with international journalistic core values. The project targets several different media houses, journalists and journalism education at four universities.
About the project in Rwanda on the Fojo Media Centre website
Rwanda is vulnerable to climate change. Extreme weather has increased, resulting in droughts, floods, soil degradation and reduced harvests. Deforestation, due to the high use of firewood for cooking, is widespread and leads to increased erosion and landslides as well as reduced biodiversity. High population growth puts great pressure on the country’s forests, water and land.
Access to electricity is limited in rural areas and access to environmentally friendly cooking is often lacking. Despite the country’s ambitions to pursue a green transition, progress is slow. Sida supports climate adaptation, contributes to climate-smart and sustainable agriculture and cleaner cooking methods, as well as increasing land rights for people living in poverty. Here are some examples of projects that Sida supports:
The Swedish Lantmäteriet supports its Rwandan counterpart with training, counselling and works for a more equitable management of land through the Rwanda Land Use Management Authorities. It strengthens land registry management and land use planning. Citizens can also take training courses to learn about land-related rules and rights, including women’s right to own land.
To facilitate the country’s green transition, Sida has supported Rwanda’s environmental and climate change fund, Rwanda Green Fund. Projects include climate-smart vegetable production, cleaner cooking methods and the introduction of electric motorbike taxis in the capital of Kigali.
The Rwanda Green Fund and the Rwandan Development Bank (BRD) are working together through Ireme Invest to increase green private investment in the country. Through Sida’s guarantee cooperation, lending to small and medium-sized enterprises can be increased.
Sida supports Practical Action, which increases access to renewable energy solutions for households and businesses. They also enable the sale of clean cooking methods in all Rwandan camps for displaced people.
About Practical Action’s work on the organisation’s website
The COMBIO project is reducing the impact of climate change and strengthening biodiversity in the eastern part of the country. Led by the Rwanda Forestry Authority, the project aims to increase knowledge on how to restore forest plantations and agricultural land.
About COMBIO on the Openaid website
The business sector plays an important role in creating livelihoods for people. Rwanda has experienced strong economic growth, but despite the economic progress of recent years, almost four in ten people still live in income poverty. Many people and households still have incomes too low to live on. Most of the country’s inhabitants make their living from small-scale agriculture, although this is gradually being replaced by a growing service sector. A majority of the working-age population is outside the formal labour market and thus lacks secure employment conditions. Many poor households and people living in extreme poverty lack access to social safety nets that strengthen their resilience to, for example, natural disasters, price increases and similar shocks.
Sida supports projects that help create jobs and income opportunities for women, young people and in rural areas. Sida strengthens opportunities for business and entrepreneurship. Sida also supports the national social security system to ensure that more people, especially those living in poverty, have access.
Here are some examples of projects that Sida supports:
The organisation Access to Finance Rwanda (AFR) stimulates the development of the financial sector. AFR contributes to increasing access to financial services for people and businesses, including women, young people and rural households. More than 2.5 million people have gained access to financial services, including women, young people, displaced people and businesses – who often lack the ability to take out loans, invest and save.
Norrsken East Africa is a place where education, innovation and entrepreneurship come together to create sustainable development. The collaboration with Norrsken Foundation targets female entrepreneurs in Rwanda. In 2022, 30 female technology entrepreneurs were supported to improve their business skills, develop their products and services, and connect with potential investors.
ReGenerate Rwanda creates employment and livelihood opportunities for women, youth and people living in poverty in western and southern Rwanda, where poverty is most severe. The project works to increase access to jobs and income through entrepreneurship, market development and trade. The project aims to empower women and young people economically, in part by addressing discriminatory social norms.
Through Exiting Poverty in Rwanda, Sida contributes to strengthening the country’s national social security system. The programme contributes to increased access to social benefits for people in poverty and extreme poverty. The programme targets people with disabilities, pregnant women and children under the age of two to reduce the risk of malnutrition and stunting. The co-operation also includes capacity building to strengthen the national system and contribute to sustainable results.
Research and higher education are prioritised in Rwanda’s development strategy, and for more than twenty years Sida has conducted research collaborations with Rwanda. The partnership has resulted in close to 100 Rwandan researchers obtaining doctorates at Swedish universities and more than 400 Rwandans with a master degree. Many of them now hold high positions in both the public and private sectors in Rwanda.
The research focuses on capacity development for poverty reduction and sustainable development. It covers several areas including food production, water resource management, energy, rural development, and undernutrition in children and pregnant women. The need for capacity development in higher education and research remains high. Sida contributes to strengthening domestic skills and capacity and the research climate in Rwanda. Here are examples of projects Sida supports:
Sida’s research cooperation with Rwanda includes collaborations with 14 Swedish higher education institutions and six regional universities in Africa. The cooperation includes research in all disciplines with a special focus on scientific and medical research. Sida’s research support also includes institutional development.
In cooperation with the state-run University of Rwanda, Sida is helping to increase the university’s ability to conduct high-quality research itself and to train students locally at master’s, doctoral and postdoctoral level in all research fields.
The Swedish government’s strategy for Sweden’s development cooperation in Rwanda 2020–2024 is extended until 31 October 2025, or until the government decides on a new strategy.
Updated: February 11, 2025