(Ecofin Agency) - The European Investment Bank (EIB) announced that it has partnered with the Rwanda Development Bank (BRD) to support businesses affected by the Covid-19 pandemic in the country. Under this agreement, the beneficiaries will receive €30 million ($33 billion) from both partners.

“The covid-19 pandemic has hit Rwandan companies hard and new investment is essential to overcome health, business, and trade challenges. The European Investment Bank’s partnership with the Development Bank of Rwanda will unlock essential new investment,” said Uzziel Ndagijimana, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning.

The new resources will be managed by BRD and provided in particular to women- and youth-owned businesses. They will be available in local currency, dollars, or euros with maturities of up to 10 years.

Rwanda has already benefited, under the "East Africa covid-19 Response Facility", of €175 million from the EIB, of which €95 million are managed by the Bank of Kigali and KCB Bank Rwanda.

According to the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the lockdown period increased the poverty rate by 10.9 percentage points and 1.3 million people in rural areas fell into temporary poverty. Also, the restrictive measures have caused economic activity in the industrial and service sectors to fall by 57% and 48% respectively.

Jean-Marc Gogbeu (intern)