Rwanda
Help accelerate the end of poverty
for Rwandan families with cash transfers.
Rwanda
Our aim is to help lift every person in Rwanda above the extreme poverty line.
Cash transfers have measurable impacts across communities and contexts.
ACTIVE Programs
Large transfer
Poverty Eradication
Ongoing program first launched in 2016 to deliver large, one-time cash transfers to the poorest households in Gicumbi, Ngoma, Gisagara, Nyamagabe, and Ngororero.
Transfer Size
~$797 via mobile money
Households Reached
65,128
Outcomes
This cash transfer model draws on a large body of evidence demonstrating that large cash transfers have a significant positive impact on the lives of people in poverty. Through a village saturation approach in which every household in a target region receives cash, recipients have reported increased savings, essential assets and improved homes, school enrollment for children, health insurance enrollment, and more.
PAST Programs
CASH BENCHMARKING
Cash+ Nutrition Benchmarking
2018 program comparing the cost-effectiveness (impact per dollar) of the Gikuriro nutrition intervention against small cash transfers paired with the nutrition intervention and large cash transfers alone.
Transfer Size
Groups in the cash transfer arm received either ~$110 or ~$517. The nutrition program was valued at $142 based on the costs of administration.
Households Reached
3,000
Outcomes
Large cash transfers had significant positive impacts on food security and nutrition compared to small cash transfers or non-cash nutrition interventions.
Neither the traditional program nor cost-equivalent cash transfers of ~$110 affected the study’s primary outcomes, but a larger cash transfer of ~$532 improved consumption, dietary diversity, and childhood growth 12 months after the baseline survey. For secondary outcomes studied, the smaller cash transfer program decreased debt and increased assets, while the nutrition program increased savings.
Partners
Google.org, USAID
CASH BENCHMARKING
Cash+ Youth Employment Benchmarking
2019 program comparing the impact and efficiency of the Huguka Dukore workforce readiness program against small cash transfers paired with the workforce readiness program and large cash transfers alone.
Transfer Size
Groups in the cash transfer arm received $410. The employment program was valued at $332 based on the costs of administration.
Households Reached
875
Outcomes
At the 18-month endline, the study found that cash had stronger impacts across economic outcomes including consumption, productive hours, income, productive assets, livestock, savings, and subjective well-being. The workforce readiness training also increased productive hours, assets, savings, and well-being, but outperformed cash only in producing business knowledge.
After 3.5 years, both programs continued to show positive effects with cash transfers still showing larger overall effects. Following the economic shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic, impacts across both programs faded by roughly one-half compared to the 18-month endline, eliminating the statistically significant differences in impact between the two. There was no evidence that combining cash with workforce training had a greater impact than either intervention on its own.
REFUGEES
Self-Reliance for Refugees
2019-2020 program in Mugombwa to test whether delivering large, one-time cash transfers accelerate refugees’ path towards self-reliance when compared to monthly subsistence payments or in-kind aid.
Transfer Size
~$720
Households Reached
2,264, including both refugees and host households
Outcomes
Cash transfers generated a wide-range of positive outcomes and immediate improvement in recipients’ lives: Post transfers i) 100% of surveyed recipients reported increases in assets, ii) 98% of surveyed recipients reported increases in income, iii) 81% of surveyed recipients reported using the transfer to pay down debt and iv) 70% of surveyed recipients reported increases in day to day consumption and spending.
Cash transfers have the potential to accelerate the path towards self-reliance: 60% of transfers were spent on long-term investments, providing a plausible path to sustainable self-reliance.
Cash transfers offer recipients the flexibility to adapt to and withstand shocks (e.g. COVID-19): Almost all refugees used part of pre-existing support (including but not limited to GiveDirectly cash transfers) as coping mechanisms to cover immediate needs resulting from the outbreak of COVID-19.
Partners
Government of Rwanda, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
EMERGENCY RELIEF
COVID-19 Emergency Relief
2020 program aimed at preventing vulnerable households in urban areas from falling into or further into poverty due to the economic impacts of the pandemic.
Transfer Size
$150 via mobile money
Households Reached
92,292, of which 89% were women
In the News
Rwandan families are using cash to transform their lives.
Iyamuremye and Uwamariya in Kigali share their reactions to receiving money
“We had a village meeting and we were told that you are coming. We couldn’t believe it! We hope to one day see the person who gives people money.”
Placedie bought a roof, mattress, and a farming plot
“I still can’t put my feelings into words and how grateful I am for this grant. Our house is now well-roofed, so we no longer panic when it rains, and we have enough food in our home. My weekly savings in our village association have increased from $0.2 to $4. There is a huge improvement in our family, and optimism about our future.”
Patrick started a barbershop, a farm business, and more
“Before the border closure due to COVID-19, I often went to DRC to work as a casual laborer. I was paid $5 a day while my wife earned about $1 on a good day [hawking goods]. My wife and I decided to spend [our first transfer] on food and invest the balance. My life has changed for the better and I no longer have to cross the border to seek jobs.”
Leocadie became a professional tailor
“This money [enabled] a shift from being a street hawker to a legal business owner. After receiving cash, I took a training course on tailoring for $13, bought a sewing machine for $43 and used the rest to buy materials. Receiving cash has given me a lot of choices and opportunities to invest money in a business, save, pay school fees for my kids, and boost my family’s food security.”
Poverty in Rwanda
Every year, Rwanda receives up to $1.47 billion in development aid. However, 52% of Rwanda’s population still lives below the international extreme poverty line. The Rwandan government has introduced a National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) with the goal of eradicating extreme poverty by 2024, but the economic shocks of COVID-19, widespread food insecurity, and lack of access to capital have hampered progress.
The Government has recently announced its National Strategy for Sustainable Graduation (NSSG) aimed at empowering people to graduate from poverty. Cash transfers are featured as the first pillar in the NSSG, followed by multifaceted socio-economic services and training.
The World Bank’s Human Capital Index (HCI) scores Rwanda at 0.38, slightly above the average for low-income countries but below average for Sub-Saharan Africa.
Sources: Our World in Data, World Bank
We have been working with GiveDirectly since 2016 to test and target [cash transfers] with good results. The traditional way of supporting vulnerable groups is giving them something, deciding where they put it and how they use it. But out of 10 [recipients], 3 benefit. Giving cash to people, 7 or 8 out of 10 benefit and you see the transformation beginning to take place.
Paul Kagame
President of Rwanda