(Ecofin Agency) - JPMorgan Chase will provide $200 million in funding to Rwanda, guaranteed partially by the African Development Fund (ADF), to support sustainable development projects. This financing agreement was signed in Nairobi during the African Development Bank's (AfDB) annual meetings between Rwanda's Finance and Economic Planning Minister, Uzziel Ndagijimana, and AfDB Vice President for Private Sector, Infrastructure, and Industrialization, Solomon Quaynor.

The funds will be allocated to projects aligned with Rwanda's National Strategy for Transformation (NST-1) for 2017-2024.

Let’s recall that Rwanda is not the first African country to utilize this partial guarantee tool, which aims to increase a country's borrowing capacity without disproportionately raising its debt. "We recently did the same in Côte d'Ivoire, benefiting from the support of the Islamic Development Bank and other investors, guaranteeing $400 million and raising a total of $533 million for the country," Max Magor Ndiaye, Director of Syndication and Co-Financing at the World Bank Group, told Ecofin Agency. He added, "We are also in discussions with other countries."

The partnership between the AfDB and JPMorgan Chase deepened in March when a delegation from the American investment bank visited Abidjan to explore partnership opportunities with Africa's main development finance institution. JPMorgan has committed to finance and facilitate more than $2.5 trillion over the next decade, including $1 trillion for green initiatives such as renewable energy and clean technologies.

“We are also very interested in providing long-term financing, as far as possible in local currencies, provided we have a guarantee from the bank [AfDB],” said Olivier Eweck, Head of the Public Sector for Sub-Saharan Africa. JPMorgan aims to leverage the AfDB's investment guarantee system, which can cover up to 100% of investments.