Rwanda has once again published a revised Green Growth and Climate Resilience Strategy (GGCRS) with a clear budget of roughly $2 billion that will enable the country to implement its second National Strategy for Transformation (NST2) and a more focused development agenda for 2050.
The strategy was first adopted in 2011 and was revised in 2023 to align with Rwanda’s Vision 2050 and to account for the accelerating impacts of climate change and evolving socio-economic development goals. This revision now includes a specific budget line.
The new revised strategy was announced during a High-Level Policy Dialogue held on April 30, which centered discussions on three priorities: programmatic resource mobilization, crowding in private investment, and strengthening monitoring and accountability frameworks. Each is essential to drive results at scale.
The meeting indicated that in order to move forward in attaining the desired results, there was a need to have a budget, a more focused long-term planning, and implementation of projects, and better-coordinated efforts.
William Mugabo, the Single Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) Coordinator and expert in preparing the revised GGCRS, said that the new strategy is in four thematic areas: Green industry and trade; Green urban transition and integration; Sustainable land use and resource management; and Vibrant resilient green rural livelihoods, which will largely require funds mobilization.
“Financing is key in implementing this strategy, and this budget will largely come from the government and private sector, but this time around, we are also focusing on having tailor-made projects funded by private investors,” Mugabo said.
Rwanda’s Minister of Environment, Dr. Valentine Uwamariya, said that the revised strategy is Rwanda’s roadmap to succeeding in its ambitious green growth agenda.
“Our success depends on unlocking significant climate and nature finance, deepening private sector engagement, and building systems that deliver measurable impact,” Uwamariya said.
Anticipated Changes in Approach:
To deliver this, Uwamariya said that four things have to be done moving forward: for instance, the need for programmatic investment and abandoning the previous practice of having fragmented projects.
“We must now structure large-scale, coordinated investments—anchored in national systems and aligned with Rwanda’s priorities like climate-smart agriculture, resilient infrastructure, and sustainable land management,” she said.
Adding that other next steps needed include: unlocking the full potential of the private sector to deploy blended finance instruments, de-risking tools, and creating incentives to bring in private capital at scale; and having an implementation plan that is results-driven and transparent.
“Our monitoring and evaluation systems must evolve to capture not just activity, but real outcomes. Data, learning, and accountability will be the backbone of trust and long-term financing,” Uwamariya said.
Stakeholders’ Take:
According to experts, the GGCRS incorporates some aspects of the existing Rwanda Green Taxonomy ($11 billion) and Climate and Nature Finance Strategy ($3 billion), which will also be seen as powerful tools to guide and unlock such financing.
Teddy Mpinganzima Mugabo, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the Rwanda Green Fund, said that depending on grants will not get Rwanda where it needs to reach. That is why getting banks and the private sector onboard is crucial, and the Ministry of Finance is currently central in mobilizing these funds to ensure the development budgets align with this strategy.
“We are proud of the work done but have also learned how to use funds – to move away from scattered projects to more focused and sustainable ones where we are engaging the Ministry of Agriculture, Infrastructure, among others,” Mpinganzima Mugabo said during a panel discussion on how the revised strategy will align with the NST2.
Rwanda Environmental Management Authority (REMA) Deputy Director-General (DDG) Faustin Munyazikwiye asserted that there is a need to strengthen existing coordination efforts if Rwanda is to meet its ambition.
“We have to improve the planning because we have been having plans based on incidents. Instead, we need to focus on research and long-term planning but also design programs that are based on this,” Munyazikwiye said.
Sustainable Community Engagement:
Private Sector players like Albertine Rift Conservation Society (ARCOS) Network – a regional conservation organization putting healthy biodiversity and proper management of natural resources in the region, say they are ready to support the new strategy, which reflects some of their community-based economic, social, and environmental activities.
For instance, Dr. Sam Kanyamibwa, the ARCOS Founder and CEO, said that they are focusing on carbon credit activities through promoting tree planting with 50 percent of species being indigenous to address the issue of biodiversity loss but also promote community development through an evolving fund where over 100 friends of nature groups have been established in different cells.
Kanyamibwa also revealed that they have established 5,000 hectares of terraced land for restoration to prevent soil erosion but in addition to market value chains to engage and economically empower communities.
