The Sustainability-Linked Bond issued by the Development Bank of Rwanda (BRD) has attracted high subscriptions by 110.5 per cent, surpassing the initial target amount of Rwf30 billion to Rwf33.1 billion.

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The seven-year maturity bond, announced on September 29, will be listed and traded on Rwanda Stock Exchange at a coupon rate of 12.85 per cent in local currency.

It is reported that the appetite is largely from commercial banks and social security companies which took 64 per cent of the bond. In contrast, the remaining percentage comprises other large commercial and investment companies, among others.

The SLB seeks to raise funds to support the bank’s ambition to mainstream environmental, social, and governance for partner financial institutions, increasing women-led business loans, and financing affordable housing.

Officials at BRD said that the development is also expected to raise women-led businesses from the current 15.4 per cent to 30 per cent.

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The bank operates in six key areas of intervention including agriculture, energy, affordable housing and infrastructure, manufacturing and export, education, green finance, and the digital economy.

While the country has been able to mobilise concessional loans from multilateral organisations for development purposes which have allowed it to maintain a moderate debt level, such bonds allow diversification of capital mobilisation from the domestic market.

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The SLB is partially credit-enhanced through a World Bank lending operation to the Government of Rwanda through the Access to Finance for Economic Recovery and Resilience Project (AFIRR) –a five-year project that runs on three pillars including liquidity and recovery facility, risk-sharing facility, and institutional strengthening and implementation support.

The World Bank provided a Rwf10 billion guarantee for investments of entities that will subscribe to the bond.

It is worth noting that SBLs are different from Green Bonds whose proceeds are solely tied to environmentally beneficial projects.