The newly appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Rwanda Development Board (RDB), Francis Gatare, has hinted at his vision for the institution to advance public-private partnership as an engine of Rwanda’s economic growth.

Gatare was appointed as RDB CEO by President Paul Kagame, on Wednesday, September 27.

RDB is a government institution mandated to accelerate Rwanda's economic development by enabling private sector growth.

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Gatare is going to head this institution for the second time – since he served as its chief executive from 2014 to 2017. He replaces Clare Akamanzi who was at the helm of RDB since 2017.

Akamanzi said she wishes Gatare immense success at RDB.

Public-private partnerships (PPPs) are the way to go for the country to achieve its economic development aspirations, according to available records.

For instance, under the first phase of the National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) – which is a seven-year government programme running from 2017 through 2024 – Rwanda attaches importance to PPPs as an approach to increased investments, achieving greater gains in agro-processing and the health sector.

As per the strategy, total investment as a share of GDP was projected to increase from 22.6 per cent in 2017 to 31.1 per cent in 2024, driven by increases in both public and private investment. Public investment, including the Government’s part in PPPs, was set to increase gradually from 8.3 per cent of GDP in 2017 to 9.9 per cent in 2024.

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In the agribusiness sector, NST1 talks about strengthening the commercialisation of crop and animal resource value chains by increasing private sector engagement, promoting market-oriented agri-businesses, and capturing greater in-country surplus and value-addition.

This will be done by increasing volumes of investment in the agriculture sector through the promotion of public-private partnerships.

For the health sector, the strategy sought to identify innovative sources of financing for the health sector including public-private partnerships, public community partnership for health financing and a sustainable model for Community Based Health Insurance (CBHI).

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According to Rwanda’s 2050 Vision, PPPs are needed to meet the housing needs for Rwandans, and the development of industrialisation in the country.

It states that Rwanda’s industrial parks will operate at full capacity and feature state-of-the-art infrastructure, dedicated power lines, modern water and drainage systems, and high-speed internet connectivity, and will be developed through Public Private Partnership approach.