Rwanda Green Fund, which marked 10th anniversary on November 23, established Ireme Invest - Rwanda’s Green Investment Facility in November 2022 at COP27 to finance private sector’ green projects. Ireme Invest- the green investment facility will increase the private sector’s contribution to Rwanda’s response to climate change-was officially launched by President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, at 27th UN climate conference (COP27) in Egypt, in 2022. Ireme Invest, is an initiative of the Government of Rwanda through the Rwanda Green Fund and the Development Bank of Rwanda, with support from a range of development partners. It features a ‘Project Preparation Facility’ offering grants managed by Rwanda Green Fund and a ‘Credit Facility’ offering concessional loans and a credit guarantee managed by BRD. In one year, the fund has mobilized over $200 million. Teddy Mugabo, the CEO of Rwanda Green Fund said the fund is trying to be innovative in terms of coming up with innovative financial instruments that can actually help mobilise more money. “When you look at the past 10 years we have been also attracting grants which means public investment but eventually we realized that we need to mobilise needed climate finance to reach our NDCs [ climate action pledges] it is important to bring in the private sector. That is why Ireme Invest was created as a financing facility dedicated to unlock private sector investment,” she explained. The private sector applies for the funding. The facility provides financial services to quality green investments and foster private sector-led green growth. The first of Ireme Invest Circular Economy Programme support and funding opportunities are under its ‘Project Preparation Facility’ one of the facility’s priority investment areas. The investment areas include clean energy, smart mobility, smart agriculture, sustainable cities and waste and circular economy. The Circular Economy Programme is open to solutions from various sectors and sub-sectors within the waste and circular economy domain such as waste reduction, reutilisation, and elimination can be addressed from diverse perspectives and at various stages of business development. Some examples include alternatives to plastic use, reinforced earth, agricultural waste reduction and reutilization, payment systems for waste services, household waste separation and collection systems, circular product design, and reuse and refill systems. So far 30 diverse businesses have been selected to benefit from 4-month expert mentoring and coaching. Grant investment funding of up to Rwf 60 million will be provided to up to 10 participating businesses based on milestones achieved during the first phase of the programme. The 10 supported businesses will then have the opportunity to showcase their products to investors in the sector. The programme will support businesses to contribute to the implementation of Rwanda’s Circular Economy Action Plan and Roadmap, the National Integrated Solid Waste Management Strategy, as well as the country’s NDC Climate Action Plan and Green Growth and Climate Resilience Strategy. This opportunity in the Ireme Invest Circular Economy Programme has been made possible by the Rwanda Green Fund with support from the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) in the framework of the Rwandan-German Climate and Development Partnership and will be facilitated by Impact Hub Kigali. Ireme Invest's ‘Credit Facility’ is currently financing projects under renewable energy which include, Hydropower, Solar power, and Geothermal. It also finances energy distribution and storage i.e. grid extension, energy loss reduction, battery energy storage among others.
