Rwanda Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in rwanda, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Selling to the Public Sector
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Government contracting and purchasing is a significant factor in the Rwandan economy as it addresses infrastructure deficits that include energy, transportation, communications, health, and education. Government spending accounted for 17% of Rwanda’s economic activity in 2024 according to National Institute of Statistics for Rwanda (NISR).

The Rwanda Public Procurement Authority (RPPA) serves as the government’s procurement oversight body mandated to ensure transparent and accountable procurement.  Procurement has become increasingly digitized through Rwanda’s national e-procurement platform, Umucyo, which automates and publicizes most transparent tender processes. Government entities keep annual procurement plans and publish tender/bidding information on Umucyo’s procurement plan portal and their own websites. Occasional direct tenders outside RPPA oversight still occur. Oversight of government expenditure is provided by the Auditor General’s Office (Annual audit reports), established in 1999 to carry out continuous government audits. Annual audits are available online.

A new public procurement policy, implemented in 2025, encourages environmentally sustainable procurement and supports SME participation, further enhancing transparency and inclusivity in government contracting.

For more information, visit RPPA’s website. Government entities keep annual procurement plans and bidding information on their respective websites.

Rwanda is not a party or an observer to the WTO Multilateral Agreement on Government Procurement or a party to a free trade agreement with the United States covering government procurement commitments.  The United States and Rwanda do have a bilateral investment treaty, which facilitates investment but does not provide preferential government procurement market access.  Many governments finance public works projects through borrowing from multilateral development banks.

Please refer to the Project Financing Section in the Trade and Project Financing chapter for more information.

U.S. companies bidding on foreign government tenders may also qualify for U.S. Government advocacy. Within the U.S. Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration, the Advocacy Center coordinates U.S. Government interagency advocacy efforts on behalf of U.S. exporters in competition with foreign firms in foreign government projects or procurement opportunities.  The Advocacy Center works closely with the U.S. Commercial Service worldwide and inter-agency partners to ensure exporters of U.S. products and services have the best possible chance of winning government contracts.  Advocacy assistance can take many forms but often involves the U.S. Embassy or other U.S. Government agency officials expressing support for the U.S. exporters directly to the foreign government.  Consult the Advocacy Center’s program web page on trade.gov for additional information.

Project Financing

Most major public infrastructure projects are financed by concessional loans and grants from traditional lenders such as the World Bank and the African Development Bank. The Chinese and Indian Export–Import banks have financed projects in the past. Other bilateral lenders to Rwanda for infrastructure projects include Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), EXIM India, EXIM Korea, Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED), JICA, and most recently, the French Development Agency (AFD).  Rwanda has benefited from European Union infrastructure funding from time to time.  Local private projects are financed by local commercial banks and the Rwanda Development Bank. Rwanda increasingly leverages its national e-procurement platform for externally financed projects. The country continues to attract funding organizations, recently hosting the AfCFTA Adjustment Fund and the Afrexim Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA) with an initial commitment of $350 million from Afreximbank, and the Allan & Gill Gray Philanthropy East Africa hub and other new institutions have chosen Rwanda for their regional base.

The government (through RDB) continues to attract domiciliation of alternative funding organizations. In March 2023, the AfCFTA Secretariat and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) signed a host country agreement with Rwanda to host the AfCFTA Adjustment Fund in Kigali. The fund will operate as an equity investment vehicle providing seed capital to African companies and is expected to grow beyond $1 billion.  The government also continues to encourage and facilitate the establishment of regional hubs by international philanthropic and development institutions.  

Resource: National Bank of Rwanda.

Multilateral Development Banks and Financing Government Sales

Price, payment terms, and financing can be a significant factor in winning a government contract.  Many governments finance public works projects through borrowing from the Multilateral Development Banks (MDB).  The Guide to Doing Business with Multilateral Development Banks overviews how to work with MDBs. The International Trade Administration (ITA) has a Foreign Commercial Service Officer stationed at each of the five Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs): the African Development Bank; the Asian Development Bank; the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; the Inter-American Development Bank; and the World Bank.

Learn more by contacting the Commercial Liaison Office to the African Development Bank

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

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