The World Bank Group today approved US$150 million from the International Development Association (IDA) to help the Government of Rwanda increase access to finance and to support recovery and resilience of businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The total IDA financing package includes US$25 million in grant resources.
The Access to Finance for Recovery and Resilience (AFIRR) Project also benefits from an additional US$7.5 million grant from the Global Risk Financing Facility (GRiF), a Multi-donor Trust Fund that will help to enhance access to finance through risk-sharing solutions.
“This project is an important contribution to the government’s post-COVID Economic Recovery Plan, promoting investment in priority growth sectors, supporting jobs and reinforcing Rwanda’s financial system’s crisis preparedness.” said Rolande Pryce, World Bank Country Manager. “The AFIRR project provides significant resources to help further capitalize the Economic Recovery Fund coupled with enhanced support programs to improve firms’ capacity and remove barriers to access to finance. It provides a suite of instruments that strengthen the existing recovery ecosystem ranging from financial instruments to adjustment mechanisms that include innovative risk mitigation solutions.”
The project will provide financing targeting affected businesses to facilitate refinancing of existing debt obligations, provide working capital, and support investments for business adaptation and growth through the provision of longer-term sources of finance. This will be complemented by risk sharing instruments, including a partial credit guarantee scheme and a bridge loan and insurance facility to increase access to finance for underserved segments such as micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs). In addition, the Project will provide targeted technical assistance to firms, participating financial institutions, and government implementing agencies, to address existing constraints for increasing uptake of the Economic Recovery Fund.
“Interventions under the project will help businesses to continue to operate and adapt to the post-COVID environment. They will also provide a lifeline to firms in growth-potential sectors that find it difficult to access financing from financial institutions; this will contribute to preserving jobs and mitigating loss of otherwise productive firms that can help drive economic recovery” says Brice Gakombe, the Project Task Team Leader.
In addition to providing financing, the AFIRR project will bolster the capacity of key government and private sector stakeholders on the technical aspects of the financing and risk-sharing instruments, as well as disaster risk financing principles. As women were hardest hit by COVID19 pandemic, the project focuses on increasing the share of women inclusive enterprises able to access financing under the liquidity and financing facility, and through targeted training to address gender specific constraints for MSMEs as well as improve outreach in underserved segments.
The AFIRR project will be co-financed in the amount of $100 million by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), of which Rwanda is a non-regional member. It is AIIB’s first investment in Rwanda. (End)