EC gives access to private sector investment fund

The European Commission (EC) has invited Rwanda to join other countries of the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group to apply for funding from a private sector investment facility worth 2.2 billion ECU (roughly the same sum in dollars). The facility is to be drawn down over two years, and the sooner the Rwandan private sector begins preparing to access this funding the better because “it will be operated along the lines of first-come first-served”, said EC Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Poul Nielson, in Kigali on Friday.

This private sector support was in addition to the 110 ECU grant announced by Nielson alongside the restoration of normal development links with Rwanda on Thursday, the Rwanda News Agency (RNA) reported. While the Rwandan public sector must create “an enabling environment” and EC funding could be a catalyst, the strategy and execution of economic growth had to be done by the private sector, said Nielson. “Microcredit should be linked to the informal sector because it is the people here are the very actors that have need for funding,” he added.