National Employment Programme gets Rwf6.2 billion fund from Swedish Government

The Government of Rwanda and the Government of Sweden, yesterday at Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, signed a financial agreement worth US$ 7.4 million (about Rwf6.2 billion)  to support the National Employment Programme (NEP); a programme established to contribute to the creation of  200,000 off farm jobs annually.
According to Hon. Claver Gatete, Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, the 2-year grant will play a critical role in conducting on jobs trainings focusing on companies engaged in ‘Made-in-Rwanda’ products. 
The grant will also focus on impacting hands on skills for youth in trades with high employability potentials; training in response to the needs of emerging investment companies with special focus to companies engaged in “Made in Rwanda”; supporting youth who are graduating in TVET to enterprise their  technical  skills through the acquisition of start-up toolkits for self-employment, supporting craftsmen operating in clusters mainly those operating in Integrated Craft Production Centers (ICPCs) to upgrade their skills and acquire modern production equipment to enhance the quality of their products, and supporting start up MSMEs for mainly youth and women to access capital and finance through collateral guarantee support implemented by BDF
“The EDPRS 2 recognises the important role of employment in economic development and poverty reduction and, accordingly, calls for 200,000 off-farm jobs to be created each year to meet the employment needs of the growing labour force.” Finance Minister said.
National Employment Program is articulated under EDPRS2 as a tool to strengthen the coordination of employment programs through the establishment of a framework for better planning, implementation and coordination of employment programs from different stakeholders engaged in job creation and employment promotion.
The fund will eventually help create more jobs for the youth and women and increase their contribution to the national economic development.
Hon. Francois Kanimba, Minister for Trade, Industry and East African Community Affairs, emphasized  that the funding will support youth who are graduating under the TVET system to put to good use their technical skills through acquisition of startup toolkits to initiate their own projects.
The Swedish Ambassador to Rwanda, H.E. Jenny Ohlsson, reiterated   the continuous support of the Government of Sweden to help create  more jobs for sustainable development.

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