Rwanda

Photo Credit: World Bank/Flickr

Key Activities

IFC launched its Integrated Environmental, Social, and Governance Project in Rwanda in 2023 to lay the foundation for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices by strengthening the ESG enabling environment through development of industry guidelines at regulatory level; capacity building of market intermediaries at a market level; and improving ESG performance of selected firms for demonstration effect through in-depth advisory services at firm level.

Regulatory Level

The project supports improvement of the ESG regulatory environment for banks in Rwanda through development of ESG guidelines in partnership with the Rwanda Bankers Association (RBA) and assists the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) to implement the corporate governance code for issuers of securities to the public. The guidelines will define E&S risk management and corporate governance standards and incorporate ESG disclosure requirements and are expected to be adopted by the end of the project post-implementation monitoring. 

Market Level

The market level ESG support is to be enhanced through increasing the capacity of the RBA, CMA, and the Rwanda Association of Professional Environmental Practitioners (RAPEP) as well as a selected cohort of Rwandan consultants active in the market, to provide ESG related services/trainings to banks and real sector companies. The project also plans to organize public awareness events on various ESG topics for banks and companies in the agribusiness, affordable housing, and manufacturing sectors. 

Firm Level

Through in-depth advisory support, the project aims to improve the ESG performance of IFC clients in the financial, agribusiness, and manufacturing sectors. 

Major Achievements

The Project builds on the previous 2016-2021 East Africa Corporate Governance Program’s experiences, challenges, successes, lessons learned, networks and market profile in Rwanda. The Corporate Governance program was focused on raising awareness on the business case and benefits of sound corporate governance practices, building relationships with market level intermediaries, training of trainers, and piloting firm level corporate governance advisory service support. Through activities during the Corporate Governance Program, IFC partnered with the Rwanda Capital Market Authority to develop a corporate governance code (along with the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Rwanda, the Association of Microfinance Institutions of Rwanda, and the Public Sector Federation). The program also supported and facilitated translation of  market relevant IFC publications such as  IFC Small and Medium Enterprise Governance Guidebook and Women in Business Leadership Boost ESG Performance: Existing Body of Evidence Makes Compelling Case  into the local dialect of Kinyarwanda. 

Other Resources
Our Development Partners

The Integrated Environmental, Social, and Governance Project is implemented in partnership with the government of Japan.

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Our Local Partners
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