Rwanda - The Centre of Excellence in Biomedical Engineering and e-Health Phase II (AFDB-P-RW-IAD-005)

Regions
  • Africa
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • Rwanda
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • African Development Bank (AFDB)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
B
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Jan 8, 2026
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Government of Rwanda - University of Rwanda (Ministry of Education)
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Education and Health
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 29.47 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 33.18 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Bank Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ AFDB website

Updated in EWS Aug 4, 2026

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the Centre of Excellence in Biomedical Engineering and e-Health Phase II Project in Rwanda aims to strengthen advanced health education, research and innovation capacities to support the development of a skilled workforce and improve the performance of the national and regional health systems. The total project cost is estimated at UA 24.56 million (approximately USD 33.64 million). Financing is provided through a UA 18.0 million loan from the African Development Fund (ADF) and a UA 3.8 million loan from the African Development Bank (ADB window), complemented by a counterpart contribution of UA 2.76 million from the Government of Rwanda. The project is implemented by the University of Rwanda under the oversight of the Ministry of Education.

The objective of the project is to improve the quality and outcomes of health care in Rwanda by promoting innovation and developing a highly qualified workforce in biomedical engineering, rehabilitation and mobility sciences, and e-health, in line with national and regional standards. The project seeks to expand and modernize specialized training infrastructure, establish a biomedical innovation park, upgrade curricula and accreditation systems, and strengthen academic and research capacity in order to respond to critical shortages of skilled professionals, enhance the maintenance and local development of medical technologies, and support the digital transformation and resilience of health services.

The project will directly benefit students, academic staff and health professionals in Rwanda and across the East African Community. It is expected to train 470 students, including master’s and bachelor’s level graduates in biomedical engineering, rehabilitation and mobility sciences, and e-health, with a strong focus on youth and women, and to upgrade the skills of 18 academic staff through doctoral and post-doctoral training. Indirect beneficiaries include health institutions, patients and communities who will benefit from improved availability of qualified specialists, more reliable medical equipment, and enhanced digital health services. Through its regional orientation and harmonized training and accreditation frameworks, the project will also contribute to the mobility of skills and the strengthening of health systems for the wider population of the East African Community.

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

The project is categorized as Medium-risk; Category 2.

The adverse environmental and social impacts of the project during construction of the CEBE infrastructure includes the following Environmental Impacts: (i) soil, water, air and noise pollution, (ii) solid waste management. Social Impacts are mainly linked with disturbance of occupants of neighbourhood through: (i) traffic disruption, (ii) public health due to: noise and dust, etc: The environmental risks include: (i) risks of erosion. The Social risks include: (i) public health risks, (ii) risks of accidents of workers, The main Operation phase risks include: (i) Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) risks, especially in workshops and laboratories and (ii) biomedical waste and other solid waste management.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

The total project cost is estimated at UA 24.56 million. Financing is provided through a UA 18.0 million loan from the African Development Fund (ADF) and a UA 3.8 million loan from the African Development Bank (ADB window), complemented by a counterpart contribution of UA 2.76 million from the Government of Rwanda.

Commitments (UA): 21,819,396
Conversion Rate USD (2026-01-08): 1,35078
Commitments (USD): 29,473,203.73


Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Name: Peter MALINGA
Email: p.malinga@afdb.org

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit an information request for project information at: https://www.afdb.org/en/disclosure-and-access-to-information/request-for-documents. Under the AfDBs Disclosure and Access to Information policy, if you feel the Bank has omitted to publish information or your request for information is unreasonably denied, you can file an appeal at https://www.afdb.org/en/disclosure-and-access-to-information/appeals-process.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF AfDB

The Independent Review Mechanism (IRM), which is administered by the Compliance Review and Mediation Unit (CRMU), is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an African Development Bank (AfDB)-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the IRM, it may assist you by either seeking to address your problems by facilitating a dispute resolution dialogue between you and those implementing the project and/or investigating whether the AfDB complied with its policies to prevent environmental and social harms. You can submit a complaint electronically by emailing crmuinfo@afdb.org, b.kargougou@afdb.org, b.fall@afdb.org, and/or s.toure@afdb.org. You can learn more about the IRM and how to file a complaint at: https://www.afdb.org/en/independent-review-mechanism/

How it works

How it works