Over the next few decades, Rwanda is positioned to become one of the most competitive investment destinations in East African. National targets, such as achieving upper middle-income status by 2035 and high-income status by 2050 (Vision 2050)1, signal the government’s intent to mobilize capital at a scale that matches its development aspirations.
Cities are central to that vision. As hubs of talent, business and innovation, Rwanda’s urban centers, home to an estimated 3.7 million people as of 2022, are expected to absorb and amplify a significant share of incoming investment. The country’s capital, Kigali, is already witnessing major investments in urban infrastructure and real estate. Projects such as the $300 million Kigali Innovation City and the country’s booming Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism are attracting substantial international financing for mixed-use developments and smart-city projects. Green City Kigali, a $4 billion-$5billion development project, is another flagship initiative aiming to deliver 30,000 housing units and 16,000 jobs for Kigali’s residents. But amid strong economic prospects, certain risks remain.
Rwanda’s iconic hills, coupled with a changing climate, mean that floods and landslides are becoming more frequent and more destructive. These growing hazards threaten the investments intended to unlock long-term prosperity.
It is against this backdrop that Rwanda’s Ministry of Infrastructure (MININFRA) convened practitioners from across the country in March 2026 for the Forum on Urban and Peri-Urban Nature-Based Solutions. Traditionally, responses to Rwanda’s environmental challenges, primarily flooding and landslides, have involved “gray” infrastructure: drainage systems, retaining walls and engineered flood defences.
But evidence increasingly shows that “green” infrastructure is an essential counterpart to gray infrastructure, for example, green corridors, permeable landscapes and restored wetlands. In Rwanda, projects such as the Nyandungu Eco-Park have registered immense successes, reducing flood risk for urban residents while restoring biodiversity and air quality in Kigali.
Other types of green infrastructure, like forests and urban trees, help cities manage flood risks, mitigate heat and restore ecosystems. Examples of pioneering nature-based solutions projects include Scaling Urban Nature-based Solutions for Climate Adaptation in sub-Saharan Africa (SUNCASA) and the Kigali Wetland Rehabilitation Project. All these projects have demonstrated how nature can complement traditional gray infrastructure.
The Forum on Urban and Peri-Urban Nature-Based Solutions, led by MININFRA and co-hosted with WRI and the European Union, Enabel, GIZ, the International Institute for Sustainable Development, the Global Green Growth Institute and the Caterpillar Foundation, offered an opportunity to chart a path toward greater investments in nature-based solutions. Through this national platform, practitioners and planners from across Rwanda explored case studies of successful green and gray infrastructure from both Rwanda and around the world.
Over three days of discussions, policymakers, practitioners and financiers reached a key consensus: move beyond a reliance on project-based grants and develop innovative financing models, such as green bonds or blended finance, that can crowd in private sector investment to support the long-term sustainability and scaling of nature-based solutions.
Among the outcomes of the Forum was the development of a national pipeline of projects. The Forum kickstarted ideation for 30 priority projects, ranging from large-scaled terracing to prevent landslides in Burera to a new constructed wetland in Gasabo. These projects, owned and led by local districts, will undergo feasibility and stakeholder assessments before being pitched to a regional roundtable of financiers later this year. Hosted by MININFRA and the Ministry of Environment, the regional roundtable will be a national opportunity to connect mature project concepts with potential investors.
The insights and priorities developed in Kigali will also help shape Rwanda’s contributions to the upcoming Africa Urban Forum (AUF) in Nairobi, Kenya, where the continent will examine how cities can accelerate resilience, climate‑responsive planning and sustainable housing.
The Forum on Urban and Peri-Urban Nature-Based Solutions offers a foundation for the commitments and declarations expected to emerge at AUF, particularly those focused on integrating nature-based resilience into infrastructure investments. These conversations will continue on an even larger stage at the World Urban Forum later in the year, where global delegates will reflect on how cities can adapt to a warming climate while ensuring safe and resilient housing for all.
1 Rwanda’s Vision 2050 aims to transform the nation into an upper-middle-income country by 2035 and a high-income country by 2050, building on rapid development strides. Key targets include achieving a GDP per capita of over USD 4,036 by 2035 and over USD 12,476 by 2050 through industrialization, human capital development and export growth.