The manufacturing sector contributed 21% to Rwanda’s GDP in 2023/24, a significant increase from 9.9% in 2018. Although the sector remains relatively small, it has been experiencing steady growth. Since the adoption of the National Industrial Policy in 2011, several critical policy interventions and strategies have been implemented, including the Made in Rwanda policy, the Entrepreneurship Development Policy (EDP), the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) policy, the Domestic Market Recapturing Strategy (DMRS), the National Export Strategy, the SMEs strategy, and the Cross-Border Trade Strategy.

Rwanda also enjoys preferential access to several international markets through the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) special and differential treatment provisions..

• Government of Rwanda procurement covers ~12% of GDP
• “Made in Rwanda” policy allows for a benefit in public procurements when local value addition >30%
• Bids meeting this criterion get a 15% preference over other bids
• Smaller tenders (<10 mio and <100 mio RWF for services and works respectively) are always reserved for local suppliers

Customs benefits

• When domestic value addition is significantly high (30% value addition), import duties levied are lowered:
  • 0% for raw materials
  • 10% for intermediate products
  • 25% for finished products
• This applies to imports from all countries outside the East-African Custom Union