April 28, 2026
Kigali, Rwanda —Tuesday, 28 April 2026 — The Rwanda Development Board (RDB) has today released its 2025 Annual Report, highlighting sustained performance across key sectors, continued reforms, and progress in positioning Rwanda as a competitive destination for investment, trade and tourism.
In 2025, Rwanda recorded USD 2.62 billion in registered investments across 799 projects, up from 612 projects in 2024, reflecting a diversified pipeline expected to generate over 38,000 jobs. Real estate, manufacturing, and mining accounted for the largest share of investment, supporting both capital inflows and job creation.
Foreign private capital (FPC) performance also remained solid. According to the 2025 FPC survey, Foreign Direct Investment inflows rose to USD 872.9 million in 2024, marking a 21.8% increase from USD 716.5 million recorded in 2023 (as reported in the 2024 FPC survey). Taken together, these results point to sustained confidence in Rwanda’s policy environment and in the ability to support investment through implementation, not only promotion.
Tourism continued to deliver strong results, with revenues reaching USD 685 million, up from USD 647 million in 2024 (+6 YoY), supported by 1.49 million visitor arrivals (+9% YoY), driven in part by Rwanda’s renowned gorilla trekking and new experiences in the country’s national parks. The Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) segment generated USD 94.7 million, up from USD 84.8 million in 2024 (+11 YoY), driven by 165 international and regional events, further positioning Rwanda as a leading destination for high-value tourism and global events.
Key events included the UCI Road World Championships 2025 in September, a historic first for Africa; Move Afrika: Kigali featuring John Legend; the Mobile World Congress; and the Basketball Africa League Season 5, among others. These events significantly contributed to visitor arrivals, global visibility, and the continued growth of Rwanda’s MICE ecosystem.
Rwanda’s export sector remained resilient, with total export receipts reaching USD 3.6 billion, driven by steady performance in sectors such as mining, agriculture, and horticulture. Services exports increased by 2.7% year-on-year, reinforcing their contribution to overall export performance. Air cargo volumes increased by 2.4% to 6,257 tonnes, up from 6,113 tonnes in 2024, reinforcing Rwanda’s connectivity to key international markets, including Europe and the Middle East.
Rwanda continued to leverage strategic partnerships under the Visit Rwanda initiative to enhance its global brand visibility and positioning as a premier tourism and investment destination. In 2025, Rwanda renewed its partnership with Paris Saint-Germain until 2028 and signed a new three-year partnership with Atlético de Madrid, running through 2028.
The country further expanded its strategy and secured long-term sponsorship agreements with the Los Angeles Clippers and the Los Angeles Rams, both of which extend through 2030. These are expected to significantly increase Rwanda’s global exposure, attract high-value visitors and investors, and contribute to the continued growth of tourism, investment, and the MICE segment.
The RDB 2025 report also highlights Rwanda’s strong performance in global benchmarks, including the World Bank’s B-READY Report, in which the country recorded Africa’s highest score on the regulatory framework. Rwanda also maintained its position as a top performer in the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index in Sub-Saharan Africa.
In 2025, RDB advanced reforms to improve the business environment and service delivery. Building on the expansion of the One Stop Centre, the focus was on digitizing services and integrating them onto a unified platform, which will enable more efficient and transparent access to over 400 services delivered by more than 20 institutions. A real-time performance monitoring system further supported improvements in service delivery across key areas, including business registration and investment facilitation.
In addition, Rwanda established the National Lottery and Gambling Commission (NLGC) under RDB’s mandate to serve as the regulatory authority for the gambling sector, thereby strengthening governance, compliance, and sector oversight.
Commenting on the results, Jean-Guy Afrika, Chief Executive Officer of RDB, said:
“The 2025 performance reflects continued progress in supporting Rwanda’s economic fundamentals and delivering on our priorities across investment, exports, tourism and service delivery. We remain focused on building a predictable and competitive environment that enables private sector growth and long-term development.”
RDB will continue to implement the Second National Strategy for Transformation (NST2) and its 2025–2030 strategy, focusing on expanding investment, strengthening exports, promoting high-value tourism, and advancing innovation.
-Ends-
About the Rwanda Development Board (RDB)The Rwanda Development Board is a government institution mandated to accelerate Rwanda’s economic development by enabling private sector growth. RDB oversees investment promotion, export development, tourism and conservation, and business facilitation, among other key functions.
Useful Links:
Connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X, and via email at communications@rdb.rw or info@rdb.rw.
