World Bank Group CEO Kristalina Georgieva (L) Prime Minister Dr. Edourd Ngirente and Finance Minister Dr. Uziel Ndagijimana during the launch of the study at Marriott Hotel on Saturday.
The World Bank Group has announced $150 million (Rwf132 billion) grant to Rwanda that will be invested in education to build human capital needs.
The grant is part of the Bank’s $1.3 billion active package for Rwanda.
The Bank’s active program in Rwanda already includes agriculture, education, social protection and infrastructure programs such as energy, transport, urban development project, with support to affordable housing coming on line later this month, among others.
On Saturday, November 10, the Bank and Rwanda government launched a joint study; the ‘Future Drivers of Growth’.
The study identifies four essential and interdependent drivers of future growth including innovation, integration, agglomeration and competition.
The joint study argues that the hard work will begin in Rwanda’s classrooms, and that the country needs a massive effort to build human capital—education-focused plan to realize its ambitious growth targets.
Rwanda becomes the 3rd country to launch the study after China and Vietnam.
Announcing the latest support to Rwanda’s education, World Bank Group Chief Executive Officer, Kristalina Georgieva said that Rwanda’s way of managing donor funds is what entices the Bank to keep its partnership with the country.
“We are grateful to partner with Rwanda because the results are always impressive,” she said.
Georgieva and Prime Minister Dr. Edourd Ngirente officially launched the study.
Speaking after launching the study, Prime Minister Ngirente said: “Rwanda strongly values human capital as an important driver of high-income growth, and a foundation for sustainable prosperity. Rwanda has put in place some strategies to improve its Human Capital Index.”
For Rwanda, still in early stages of development, resource misallocation has been dominant source of weak ‘Total Factors of Production.”
Importance of Innovation will gather pace as the economy moves towards middle income status and beyond.
According to Prime Minister Ngirente, “Rwanda supports the implementation of the recommendations of this study and welcomes further collaboration with World Bank as we aim to achieve upper middle income status by 2035 and high income status by 2050 to improve the quality of life for all Rwandans.”
The Prime Minister however challenged all stakeholders to join hands and ensure that effective implementation of the four findings are realised.
“Successful Implementation of these findings will require active involvement and joint efforts of various stakeholders, including the private sector, civil society organizations, development partners and other stakeholders,” he said.
