Ireme Invest, Rwanda’s Green Investment Facility, has secured an additional $42.8 million (approx. Rwf53 billion) from the world’s largest climate fund, the Green Climate Fund.
The financing will be channeled through the African Development Bank.
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The development was announced during the 37th GCF board meeting, on October 24. Established by 194 sovereign governments party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the board is charged with the governance and oversight of the Fund’s management.
In November 2022, on the margin of COP27, Ireme Invest was launched with $104 million as the first capitalization to drive private sector ventures in climate-resilient projects.
The facility aims to mobilize climate finance at speed and scale to finance a pipeline of innovative projects in clean energy, smart mobility, sustainable cities, climate-smart agriculture, increased forest cover, and waste and circular economy.
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Félix-Yvan Rugwizangoga, Chief Strategy Officer at Rwanda Green Fund, welcomed the financing saying it is part of the continued efforts to mobilize capital for Rwanda’s climate action.
"For Rwanda to unlock such significant investment from the world’s largest fund speaks volumes in the trust that we have gained while driving the transition into sustainable and green economy,” he said.
He said that while many steps are involved before disbursing the financing, the facility which operates under two windows; namely project preparatory facility and credit facility, has started receiving private sector applications to tap into the available funds as the mobilization efforts continue.
In similar efforts to drive climate financing, the GCF also extended a grant fund of $39 million (approx. Rwf48 billion) to the Ministry of Environment for the implementation of a project that seeks to build resilience of vulnerable communities to climate variability in Rwanda’s Congo Nile Divide through forest and landscape restoration.
The project will develop more sustainable management of a total of 250,000 hectares of land in the area. Additionally, it will promote sustainable agroforestry techniques in 2,000 hectares of plantations, reducing local demand for fuelwood and thereby alleviating deforestation pressures.
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In a Country Focus Report (CFR) by the African Development Bank (AfDB), launched on September 28, it is noted that green growth and climate action are essential if Rwanda is to achieve its national development vision of becoming an upper middle-income country by 2035 and high-income country by 2050.
Meanwhile, in Rwanda’s climate action plan, the total cost for mitigation measures is estimated at around $5.7 billion, and over $5.3 billion for adaptation priorities, representing a combined funding requirement of around $11 billion.
Rwanda’s mitigation contribution seeks a 38 percent reduction in gas emissions equivalent to 4.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2030.