Rwanda secures $300M financing to boost electricity access

Rwanda has secured $300 million (Ksh 39b) loan from two financial institutions to enhance electricity access in the East African Community (EAC) member state.

Under the Energy Sector Results Based Financing Phase II (RBF II) programme, Rwanda will receive $200 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and a $100 million loan from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to also support provision of reliable, clean and affordable energy.

“We are building on these lessons to accelerate connections, improve service reliability, and deliver greater impact for households, businesses, and productive users across Rwanda,” said Jean Bosco Mugiraneza, Director General for Energy at the Rwanda Ministry of Infrastructure.

In phase one, the programme helped provide off-grid energy solutions to at least 370,000 households while additional 460,000 people gained access to clean cooking.

The loan will finance rehabilitation of four substations and construction of roughly 3,855 km of medium and low voltage transmission lines.

“The Energy Sector Results-Based Financing II Program is a transformative investment that will accelerate Rwanda’s progress toward universal energy access,” added Aissa Toure Sarr, AfDB Country Manager for Rwanda.

Phase II is projected to connect an additional 200,000 households and 850 commercial users to the national grid, add 50,000 new electricity connections through off-grid solutions, provide clean cooking devices to 100,000 households and 310 public institutions, and install street lighting on 200 km of roads in secondary cities across the country.