Rwanda and Germany yesterday signed three financing agreements worth Rwf15 billion to support Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET). The Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Amb. Claver Gatete, and the German Ambassador to Rwanda, Peter Fahrenholtz, signed the agreements in Kigali. A portion of the agreement worth 7 million Euros was signed between the Workforce Development Authority Director-General, Jerome Gasana, and KfW Country Director Daniela Beckmann. KfW is a German government-owned development bank based in Frankfurt. Toward reforms Gatete said the funds will contribute to the Rwandan TVET reforms by supporting selected vocational training centers and technical secondary schools. “The support will facilitate in skills development and employment which is well embedded in the productivity and youth employment as stipulated in the EDPRS2,” Amb. Gatete said. The funds will be invested in acquiring necessary equipment as well as to renovate or extend existing facilities at technical schools that will be selected, according to Amb. Gatete. Ambassador Fahrenholtz said on top of the grants, he is interested in attracting German investors to Rwanda and that he is “doing homework” on the areas where they can invest. “Germany will continue to work with dependable partners such as Rwanda. Rwanda is a success story that gives hope for the rest of Africa,” Ambassador Fahrenholtz said. “I am meeting the new chief of the Rwanda Development Board to give us guidance on sectors where German companies can invest, as well as the tax procedures and technical skills available. Then German investors will be able to come here and co-invest with Rwandan entrepreneurs,” he added. A portion of the grant worth 5.5 million Euros (about Rwf5 billion) will finance ongoing programs in economic development, employment, decentralisation and good governance.
