Kigali, Rwanda, November 26, 2008—
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is inviting private schools in Rwanda to participate in a program that will help them access loans and improve their management systems, with the goals of improving the quality of education they provide and expanding their reach to more students.
IFC has signed an investment of up to 2.6 billion Rwandan francs (about $4.7 million) in a risk-sharing facility with the Banque Rwandaise de Développement. The facility will allow the bank to increase its lending to private schools to 7 billion francs (about $12.7 million).
Rwanda’s ministry of education is also backing the program, providing BRD with $3 million to help it grow its private sector education portfolio.
IFC will also provide advisory services to qualifying schools to help them prepare business plans to present to BRD, strengthen their financial management, and generally improve the quality of their education services. IFC will work with BRD to help the bank evaluate new business proposals, and monitor the performance of its education portfolio.
Rwanda’s Minister of Education, Dr. Gahakwa Daphrose, said: “The government of Rwanda sees an important role for private schools, particularly at the secondary and tertiary level. IFC’s advisory program is key to helping these private institutions improve their management systems and the quality of education they provide.”
Thierry Tanoh, IFC Vice President for Sub-Saharan Africa, said: "This initiative demonstrates IFC's effective combination of investments and advisory services in undertaking small-scale projects that have a high development impact.”
Despite strong demand for private education—a priority for Rwanda’s government—most private schools cannot access local, long-term loans. This hinders their ability to grow or operate effectively. The risk-sharing facility between IFC and BRD will provide private schools with access to long-term financing, allowing them to build additional facilities, and purchase new equipment, such as computers.
The initiative, which hopes to support the growth of 100 Rwandan schools, is modeled after similar programs in Ghana and Kenya, where IFC has also mobilized local currency financing and provided advisory services in support of private education.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, creates opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We foster sustainable economic growth in developing countries by supporting private sector development, mobilizing private capital, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. Our new investments totaled $16.2 billion in fiscal 2008, a 34 percent increase over the previous year. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
About Banque Rwandaise de Développement
BRD was established in 1967 as a development finance institution with a mission to promote economic development in Rwanda. Its shareholders comprise the government of Rwanda, local public institutions, international development financial institutions, and the private sector. BRD provides long-term and medium finance and facilitates the emergence of different productive enterprises in the private sector. For more information, visit
www.brd.com.rw
.
