The Agaciro Development Fund management has unveiled a new approach to encourage Rwandans and organisations to contribute to the sovereign fund. This comes as the Fund contributions hit Rwf20.4b. Vianney Kagabo, the director general of the Fund, said they have started lobbying institutions, while reaching out to Rwandans to sensitise them on the importance of the fundraising, to boost contributions. “We have ambassadors, who are visiting different institutions in all districts, explaining to people the importance of the Fund,” he explained. Kagabo said they were also partnering with telecom companies and the media in the sensitisation campaigns. He added that the government has also agreed to allocate between one and three per cent of tax collections to the Fund annually. The initiative, which was launched in August last year, is Rwanda’s first sovereign fund based on voluntary donations by Rwandans, corporate companies and friends of Rwanda. It is aimed at making Rwanda self-reliant as far as funding development initiatives is concerned.
