Rwanda Development Board (RDB) registered 612 investment projects in 2024, with a total value of $3.2 billion, a 32.4 per cent increase compared to $2.4 billion recorded in the previous year, according to its latest report.
The investments, expected to generate 51,635 jobs, were led by foreign investors from China and India, who topped the list of countries investing in Rwanda this year. China accounted for $460 million (14.1 per cent), while India followed, with $445.1 million (13.6 per cent).
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Other major sources of foreign investment included the United States with $442.3 million, Nigeria with $313 million, and the United Kingdom with $144.6 million. Additional contributions came from the Netherlands with $103.9 million, Ireland with $93.6 million, Eritrea with $93.5 million, and Ethiopia with $57.6 million.
Domestic investors also committed $782.8 million, representing 23.9 per cent of the total investment value. Investment distribution across the country in 2024 was largely directed to City of Kigali, which attracted the majority share with $2.47 billion, accounting for 75.4 per cent of total registered investments.
Western Province followed with $496.2 million, representing 15.2 per cent of the total investment. Eastern Province attracted $155.4 million, while the Northern and Southern provinces registered $109.8 million and $37.8 million, respectively.
Top sectors
The manufacturing sector attracted the highest investment in 2024, with $1.35 billion. This was followed by the financial and insurance services sector with $811.2 million, and real estate activities with $377.7 million. Combined, these three sectors made up 77.9 per cent of all registered investments.
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Other sectors include transport and storage with $164.5 million; accommodation and food services with $130.2 million; information and communication with $109 million; and agriculture, forestry, and fishing with $103.6 million. Mining and quarrying drew $51.6 million, followed by construction with $40.4 million, and education with $37.3 million.
While the overall performance of 2024 was better than the previous year’s, it falls short of $3.74 billion that was registered in 2021, as per data from the report.