IFC Supports Private Sector Education in Rwanda
In Kigali:
Liliane Rushemeza
Phone: +250 252 591 350
Email: lrushemezai@ifc.org
In South Africa:
Sabrina Hadjadj Aoul, IFC
Phone: +27 11 731 3175
Email: Shadjadjaoul@ifc.org
Kigali, Rwanda, November 9, 2009—IFC,
a member of the World Bank Group, is helping increase quality education
opportunities in Rwanda by training representatives from private schools
to help improve their management skills and business models.
IFC’s Africa Schools Rwanda Program,
in collaboration with IFC’s Rwanda Entrepreneurship Development Program
(REDP), conducted two workshops in October to train representatives of
16 private schools. The first workshop was the Strategic Planning and School
Vision three-day session. This was followed by a four-day session on Financial
Management and Accounting.
The trainings have helped schools write
long-term business plans, increasing their chances of accessing finance.
The IFC training sessions featured specially-designed tools, including
IFC’s Small and Medium Enterprise Toolkit and Business Edge, which are
interactive learning programs that help managers run more efficient businesses.
Cyprien Rwabigwi, legal representative
of Complexe Scolaire “Les Petits Poussins”, said, “The training sessions
were very valuable and will have a dramatic impact on improving the way
our school is run.”
Private schools in Rwanda face many
hurdles to growth, including lack of long term local currency financing,
inadequate facilities and weak management information systems to track
daily operations. IFC and the Banque Rwandaise de Développement (BRD) have
developed a Risk Sharing Facility to support the growth of private schools
in Rwanda.
The Risk Sharing Facility is an integrated
package of financing and advisory services available to qualifying private
schools and education service providers that will help them expand teaching
facilities and services and improve their management skills.
Ignace Bacyaha, IFC’s REDP Program
Manager, said, “With improved management, and with IFC’s support, Rwanda’s
private schools hope to increase enrollment by an average of five percent
in 2010.”
IFC has invested up to US$ 4.8 million
in this facility and provides advisory services to strengthen eligible
schools’ financial management and the quality of their education services.
Schools can submit sound business plans to BRD, which has increased its
education portfolio to approximately US$ 13 million with the assistance
of IFC.
Rwanda’s government is seeking
to increase quality education opportunities in the country and is backing
private education to support the public education system. Rwanda’s Ministry
of Education has provided BRD with US$ 3 million to further expand the
private sector education portfolio.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group,
creates opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives.
We foster sustainable economic growth in developing countries by supporting
private sector development, mobilizing private capital, and providing advisory
and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. Our new investments
totaled $14.5 billion in fiscal 2009, helping channel capital into developing
countries during the financial crisis. For more information visit www.ifc.org.
About Banque Rwandaise de Développement
(BRD)
BRD was established in 1967 as a development
finance institution with a mission to promote economic development in Rwanda.
Its shareholders comprise the government of Rwanda, local public institutions,
international development financial institutions, and the private sector.
BRD provides long term and medium finance and significantly facilitates
the emergence of different productive enterprises in the private sector.
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