The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Rwanda (ICPAR) has launched a roadmap to guide the country in applying international sustainability reporting standards.
These are officially known as the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, developed by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB).
The roadmap was launched on May 7, 2025, during the 8th Africa Congress of Accountants (ACOA) in Kigali. It comes after Rwanda officially adopted the IFRS standards in early 2024 and spent six months preparing the groundwork for their implementation.
With this move, Rwanda joins a select group of African countries—including Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya—that have committed to these global standards.
These standards require companies to publicly disclose how they impact the environment, society, and the economy in a transparent and accountable way.
This kind of information helps investors make better decisions about where to put their money, which in turn can bring more investment into the country.
The roadmap outlines a gradual, phased approach. Bigger companies with more resources will start reporting first, followed by smaller ones over the next four years.
This gives time for companies to build the skills and systems they need to collect and report sustainability information properly.
For the ordinary Rwandan, this development will lead to positive changes in several ways.
As Rwanda becomes more attractive to international investors, the country could see more businesses setting up operations here.
This can create more job opportunities and help boost the economy. When companies are required to report how they treat workers, use resources, and affect communities, they are also pushed to improve their practices. That means better working conditions, safer workplaces, and more care for the environment.
In the long run, greater investment can also mean better infrastructure, services, and public funding for things like education, healthcare, and roads. It’s also a way for Rwanda to show it is serious about responsible development and ready to compete on the global stage.
Unveiling the roadmap, ICPAR Chairman CPA Obadiah Biraro said the decision was guided by the rapid growth of the accounting profession in Rwanda and the country’s ambition to strengthen this vital sector of the economy.
“If you don’t do what you are supposed to do, you will regret it, and it is never too late to do the right thing – which is to adopt or try to adopt and then set a roadmap,” he said.
He added that the roadmap is also a way to prove that Rwanda is capable of meeting international standards.
Wilson K. Kaindi, Chair of the ISSB Steering Committee at ICPAR and Country Director of KPMG Rwanda, emphasized that the roadmap is a product of serious research and collaboration with various government agencies and development partners.
“The roadmap has been researched, and we ensured that it is practical and meets the national development goals in relation to sustainability but also gives investors the information needed to invest in the country,” he said.
Kaindi added that the roadmap is a “live document”—one that will continue to be improved as it is put into practice. He said that it will require continued input from different stakeholders to deliver the intended results.
Marc Baxmann, speaking for the German Embassy and GIZ, said the roadmap already reflects Rwanda’s development priorities, and they are ready to support its implementation as long-term partners.
“This process will take time, but as part of our ongoing activities in Rwanda and as a development partner, we commit to being a partner in the process,” he said.
Dr. Ndidi Nnoli-Edozien, a member of the ISSB, said African countries are actually ahead in many ways when it comes to adopting these standards. She noted that Nigeria was the first country in the world to adopt the standards, and South Africa was the first to use the ISSB’s digital taxonomy. Rwanda has also led in connecting the ISSB work to attracting investment.
“We’re not behind on this; we are leading because we’re telling people who we are, what we need, and the Africa that we want,” she said. “So, we have already 30 plus jurisdictions, that’s 40 percent of all. And if you take out the US market cap, that’s 80 percent of the global market cap.”
However, she also warned that countries should adopt the standards at a pace that reflects their own realities, especially in terms of skills and resources needed to implement them effectively.
