Rwanda

GIZ local staff

National employees: 150
International employees: 44​​​​​​​
Development workers: 22​​​​​​​
Integrated experts: 1

_{(as at: 31.12.2021)}  

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH has been working in Rwanda for more than 40 years.

Rwanda is a country with a turbulent and, at times, tragic history, and the impact of the 1994 genocide is still felt today. Nevertheless, Rwanda has achieved progress at a number of levels since 2000. Stability, security, steady economic growth and low corruption are some of the key successes. The country is also regarded as a pioneer in Africa in environmental protection, digitalisation and gender equality.

Despite these encouraging developments, however, Rwanda is still a very poor country that continues to rely on international support. This support is in virtually all sectors and is coordinated by the Rwandan Government. As a reliable partner in an efficient task-sharing system, GIZ works in three priority areas on behalf of the German Government:

• Economic development and employment
• Governance and democracy
• Digitalisation

Work in the area of economic development and employment is aimed primarily at reducing unemployment and underemployment and creating better-paid jobs. Faced with a lack of alternative options, the majority of the population works in the agriculture sector, where incomes are extremely low. This is due to factors such as low levels of vocational training and insufficient business knowledge.

GIZ is therefore helping to improve the quality and range of vocational training on offer. In addition, existing businesses and  company founders are receiving needs-based support. The competencies of central institutions such as the Rwanda Development Board are also being strengthened.

In the area of governance and democracy, GIZ is supporting its Rwandan partners in implementing decentralisation and building a well-organised civil society.

Rwanda would like to transfer responsibility for managing services to local districts more and more. However, the necessary financial resources are often lacking and, as a result, the quality of local services is inadequate. GIZ is therefore providing advisory services to help set up and expand local public financial management systems, including appropriate revenue structures. It is also advising the district administrations on how they can provide services in a more efficient and transparent way.

Coaching and financial support is also being provided to selected civil society organisations to assist them in improving their expertise and organisational competence.

With regard to digitalisation, Rwanda’s goal is to transition quickly to a digital knowledge and service society. However, the country lacks experts with the necessary training, particularly in the areas of IT and management, and networks need to be set up that connect IT specialists, companies and potential clients.

GIZ’s support for Rwanda’s digital transformation focuses mainly on areas where it can help to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations. This support ranges from developing digital knowledge platforms to providing support with setting up a digital transformation centre and advisory services for central public institutions involved in ICT.

In addition to the key activities mentioned above, GIZ is pursuing other projects in the areas of energy supply, water management and peacekeeping.