Rwanda is moving fast to become a green and sustainable finance hub for Africa. In coming weeks the Rwanda Stock Exchange (RSE) will launch a dedicated platform for trading green, social, and sustainability-linked financial securities, to be called the Green Exchange Window (GEW).

Celestin Rwabukumba, CEO of RSE and President of the African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA),says the new platform is designed to attract more capital into climate-resilient and environmentally friendly projects.
The RSE has been working with the Luxembourg Stock Exchange to shape the GEW to ensure transparency and alignment with global sustainability standards.

The RSE will launch the new window during the (ASEA) annual conference to be held in Kigali on 26-28 November. A key theme of the top-rated ASEA conference is mobilizing capital for Africa’s sustainable future, theme: “Integration, Innovation, and Impact.”

There is growing interest in ethical, impact and sustainability-linked instruments across African markets.

Rwanda backs sustainable finance

Rwanda has a national green finance strategy and vision for a green economy. The Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and the Kigali International Financial Centre are driving the Sustainable Finance Roadmap. This backs the long-term environmental goals, including climate resilience, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture and low-carbon infrastructure.

The national Green Growth and Climate Resilience Strategy aims for an inclusive, sustainable economy by 2050. The GEW will offer a platform for Government, companies and municipalities to raise funds for projects that cut emissions, create green jobs and enhance environmental protection.

Rwanda requires an estimated $11bn to achieve the goals outlined in the country’s 2030 Climate Action Plan, known as the National Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement.

The Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning has issued Rwanda’s Green Taxonomy, a framework that defines sustainability criteria, fosters shared understanding and trust on what constitutes a green investment and prevents “greenwashing” (passing instruments or activities off as “green” when they are not).

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, was partner in developing the taxonomy. Technical expertise was provided by the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) and Ambire Global.

The Rwanda Green Taxonomy provides tools to adapt policies and fulfil international commitments, it offers standards for green bonds and loans, disclosure regulations, green budget tagging, insurance and management of environmental risks and new stock market products.

Other initiatives include:

• Rwanda Climate Finance Partnership, launched at the June 2023 Paris Summit for a New Global Financing Pact, is a partnership in which the Government of Rwanda is supported by Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the European Union and Team Europe, the European Investment Bank (EIB), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), German Cooperation via KfW Development Bank, and the Italian Cooperation system with the support of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP)
• Rwandan-German Climate and Development Partnership is a EUR 222m fund, including seed funding from KfW.of EUR 46m to Rwanda’s NDC facility, known as Intego
• World Bank – ongoing initiatives including Boosting Green Finance, Investment and Trade (GreenFIT) and a development policy operation including reforms to increase private sector participation in the Rwandan economy and improve resource mobilisation for climate resilience, with a value of $250m over two years
• The IMF was to disburse an extra $48.5m in budget support in line with Rwanda’s Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) arrangement
• The Government announced it will contribute $40m to support Ireme Invest, the Rwandan private-sector green investment facility. The EIB and the BRD signed a EUR 20m loan and a technical assistance agreement to support Rwanda’s green transition through Ireme Invest. This is the first tranche of an expected EUR 100m financing package.

There is strong support from the Capital Market Authority, which has announced new guidelines for the issuance of Green, Social, Sustainability, and other Labels (GSS+) bonds. These provide a regulatory framework for the public issuance and listing of GSS+ bonds within Rwanda, complementing existing legislation and regulations governing debt securities.

Thapelo Tsheole, CEO of the CMA, said: “The framework seeks to create securities that are internationally credible, replicable, and attractive to global investors. The GSS+ Bonds Guidelines draw from international principles established by organizations such as the International Capital Markets Association (ICMA) and the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI), aligning Rwanda’s sustainable finance efforts with global best practices.”

The guidelines focus on public issue and do not cover private or multi-jurisdictional issuance of GSS+ Bonds.

The Luxembourg Green Exchange, working with the RSE, provided training for the over 60 participants from the KIFC in January under the theme “sustainable debt instruments and green taxonomies”. Paul Chahine, Sustainable Finance Manager at the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE), led the training, which emphasised the Green Bond Principles of the International Capital Market Association (ICMA). The principles ensure transparency and accountability through key areas such as project selection, fund management and impact reporting. This is financed by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and implemented by LuxDev, the Luxembourg Development Cooperation Agency.

BRD issues sustainability-linked bond

The Development Bank of Rwanda (BRD) has raised RWF60 billion through two issues of a sustainability linked bond (SLB), the first of this kind issued in East Africa and by a national development bank in Africa. The October 2023 issue was RWF 30bn and offered a coupon of 12.85%.
This was followed by a second RWF 30bn SLB in September 2024
As an SLB, it pays a lower coupon rate if it meets key performance indicators (KPIs) hese are

1. Improving ESG practices and systems at partner financial institutions (from 0% to 75% of the total numb er of PFIs)
2. Number of loans to women-led SMEs expressed as a percentage of the total number of SME loans, (up from 15% to 30%)
3. Cumulative number of affordable housing loans extended or refinanced by participating PFIs, with 13 000 affordable housing units to be financed by 2028.

If BRD meets one of these KPIs there will be no reduction in coupon, if it meets two then the coupon will reduce (“step down”) by 20bps and if all three are met it will step down by 40bps (0.4 percentage points). The external reviewer of the first issue is S&P Global, the lead managers were: Rand Merchant Bank and BK Capital and the sole sustainability coordinator is Rand Merchant Bank. The World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) funds provided some credit enhancement for the BRD SLBs.

The SLB issuance was oversubscribed and BRD reported diverse participation from over 120 investors across local pension funds, asset managers, insurance companies, microfinance institutions, banks, unit trust schemes and retail investors. The SLB issuance is listed on the Rwanda Stock Exchange.

BRD announced in January 2024 that half of the first SLB proceeds would be used to improve public transport in Kigali and contribute to the overall objective of creating sustainable and liveable cities.

BRD is owned 73% by the Agaciro Development Fund (a sovereign wealth fund established in 2012), 26% by the Rwanda Social Security Board, 1% by the Belgian Government and 0.6% by others.

It was accredited by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) at its 41st Board Meeting held in South Korea in February 2025, the fourth African national development bank to reach this level. The recognition enables BRD to access concessional funding from the GCF and facilitate the expansion of Ireme Invest across the financial sector.

First healthcare corporate bond

A RWF 5bn healthcare medium-term senior corporate bond was issued on 22 July 2025 by Africa Medical Supplier PLC (AMS). The company successfully closed its inaugural corporate bond with 100% subscription after opening on 24 July and closing on 7 August. The 5-year bond with a 13.25% coupon was scheduled to be listed for trading on the RSE from 22 August and will be redeemed on 14 August 2030,
AMS supplies life-saving products and equipment to hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and health centres in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Yves Sangano, Chairman of AMS, said “AMS will use the proceeds from the bond to refinance its existing USD debt and fund the company’s growth by increasing the capacity to deliver new contracts and tenders across existing and new markets,”

First green bond

Prime Energy Plc successfully raised RWF 9.6bn (approximately $7.9m) in its debut green bond issuance, Major investors led by the Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB) meant it passed its RWF 9.5bn target. The bond is listed on the Rwanda Stock Exchange in November 2024.

Photo: Fruitbats near Lake Kivu, Rwanda, Credit Depositphotos.