Rwanda - Completion and Learning Review (CLR) - IEG Review

Jul 19, 2026

Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) presents a CLR review for Rwanda covering the World Bank Group’s Country Partnership Strategy period FY14–FY20, aligned to the updated and extended Performance and Learning Review. The report summarizes Rwanda’s development context, key government priorities under national strategies, and how CPS objectives mapped to growth, rural livelihoods and social protection, and accountable governance. It details IDA commitments and new financing patterns, then rates development outcome and WBG performance with focus-area achievements and gaps.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages48

Reading Time2 h 1 min

Executive Summary

Scope and country context

CPS objectives and alignment

Financing and portfolio summary

IEG ratings and focus-area assessment

WBG performance assessment

Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized For Official Use Only CLR Review Independent Evaluation Group | 1. CPS Data | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Country: Rwanda | | | | | CPS Year: FY14 | | CPS Period: FY14 – FY20 | | | CLR Period: FY14 – FY20 | | Date of this review: June 26, 2020 | | | 2. Ratings | | | | | | | | | | | CLR Rating | | IEG Rating | | Development Outcome: | Satisfactory | | Moderately Satisfactory | | WBG Performance: | Good | | Good | | | | | | | 3. Executive Summary | | | | | | | | | | i. This review of the World Bank Group’s (WBG) Completion and Learning Review (CLR) covers the period of the Country Partnership Strategy (CPS), FY14-FY20 , as this was updated and extended in the Performance and Learning Review (PLR) dated March 20, 2017.<br>ii. The Republic of Rwanda is a small, hilly, fertile and landlocked country, densely populated (12.5 million people) with a nominal GNI per capita of US$2,200 in 2018. Between 2014 and 2018 real GDP grew at 7.1 percent and per capita GDP at 4.4 percent per year. The poverty headcount ratio at national poverty line fell from 39.4 percent in 2013/14 to 38.2 percent in 2016/17 . Income distribution improved, with the Gini index falling from 0.45 in 2014 to 0.43 in 2017. The Human Development Index improved from 0.515 in 2015 to 0.536 in 2018. The government identified Rwanda’s key development challenges and goals in the Vision 2020 Umurenge Programme (VUP) and in the Second Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy 2013-2018 (Poverty Reduction Strategy) . These documents identified five priority areas: increasing domestic interconnectivity (e.g. , electricity) , increasing external connectivity and boosting exports (trade) , transforming the private sector, transforming economic geography through urbanization and the growth of secondary cities, and pursuing a green approach to economic transformation.<br>iii. The FY14–FY20 CPS supported specific objectives of the Government’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. The CPS sought to accelerate economic growth that would be private sector driven and job creating (Focus Area I), improve the productivity and incomes of the poor through rural development and social protection (Focus Area II), and support accountable governance through public financial management and decentralization (Focus Area III) . The areas were aligned with the Poverty Reduction Strategy and addressed challenges that the Systematic Country Diagnostic of Rwanda (FY19) identified as core to Rwanda’s long-term growth and poverty reduction. The areas are also congruent with the vision presented in Future Drivers of Growth in Rwanda (2019), a joint Government–World Bank report that presents a vision of the country’s development for the years ahead.<br>iv. At the start of the CPS period, IDA’s total outstanding commitments were US$399 million for 11 operations. During the CPS period, new IDA commitments were US$2.05 billion, about US$1.0 billion more than planned. The additional lending financed projects were in sectors where IDA was already involved (e.g. , electricity) and in new sectors (e.g. , education; finance, competitiveness and innovation) where investments in human capital and policy reforms were needed to prepare | | | | the country for a higher stage of development. The additional lending responded to higher-thanexpected demand from the government as ongoing projects were advancing well. Project financing accounted for 46 percent of new lending, development policy lending for 34 percent and Program-for-Results for 19 percent. The planned regional projects in energy, trade and education did not materialize. The bulk of lending went to energy (24 percent), social protection and jobs (20 percent), agriculture (17 percent) and education (14 percent) . Thirty-five trust funds amounting to a total of US$446 million financed projects and technical assistance; 25 of them (85 percent of the tru

FAQs

What period does the CLR review cover for Rwanda?

The review covers the World Bank Group’s Completion and Learning Review period FY14–FY20, based on the Country Partnership Strategy timeframe and the updated Performance and Learning Review.

What were the main focus areas of the CPS in Rwanda?

The CPS focused on: accelerating economic growth driven by the private sector and jobs (Focus Area I), improving productivity and incomes of the poor via rural development and social protection (Focus Area II), and supporting accountable governance through public financial management and decentralization (Focus Area III).

How did IEG rate the CPS development outcome and WBG performance?

IEG rated the CPS development outcome as Moderately Satisfactory and rated WBG performance as Good, reflecting both progress in several objectives and gaps where evidence or results framework linkages were insufficient.

Jul 19, 2026

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