Rwanda bets on off-grid solar to light every home by 2029

For a Rwandan family far from the power lines, the fastest light may not come from a distant grid at all — it may come from a solar kit at home. At the Global Off-Grid Solar Forum in Kigali on October 27, State Minister Zingiro Armand set out how Rwanda plans to reach every household by 2029: grow the national grid, and lean hard on off-grid solar for the homes the grid reaches last. The starting point is already strong. By the end of July 2025, 84.6% of Rwandan households had electricity — 59.6% from the grid and 25% off-grid, mainly solar. Armand was clear the point is not just a bulb in a room: reliable, affordable power should let farmers irrigate, chill and process food instead of losing harvests, and let small businesses actually grow. A report released at the forum estimates off-grid solar could be the cheapest way to power at least 398 million people worldwide who still have none, at a cost of about $11.4 billion by 2030. Rwanda still needs more investment to finish the job — but it is treating sunshine as a main road, not a side path.

SDG 7 · Affordable and clean energy — Mechanism: institutional program