“In this research project, we conduct a study on economic transformation in Rwanda. The aim of the study is to assess how Rwanda has fared with respect to economic transformation over the past 30 years and suggest recommendations for accelerating its progress. In this study, we not only analyse the trends in Rwanda’s economic indicators over time, but also review the policies that underlie the observed trends, with the aim of giving policy explanations and policy recommendations to accelerate economic transformation in Rwanda. Economic transformation refers to a process involving increases in productivity, technological capability, economic diversification, and international competitiveness that support rapid, sustained and shared growth in employment and incomes of the population over time. In the first section of the report an overview of the context in Rwanda is given. How the country has progressed in terms of economic growth, what the remaining challenges are with respect to economic transformation. Section two presents a diagnostic review of the performance with respect to economic transformation in Rwanda in the past thirty years. Section 3 reviews and assesses the extent to which the institutional environment is conducive to proactive government engagement with the private sector in pursuing economic transformation. Section 4 the different export activities are identified in which Rwanda can increase international competitiveness or diversify into. Section 5 gives recommendations to help Rwanda to seize opportunities in order to speed up economic transformation.”
