The Nordic-Baltic Forum in Rwanda is a high-level platform for deepening strategic partnerships, accelerating innovation, and unlocking investment opportunities between Rwanda, the Nordic and the Baltic regions. Built on a foundation of trust, shared values, and sustainable development, this Forum follows years of impactful engagement, including the Africa week with Norrsken, Sweden-Rwanda Business For a with Sweden Africa Chamber (2019–2023), including health related fora with Swecare, Rwanda’s ministerial visit with business delegation to Finland (2021), the Rwanda Business Forum in Finland (2023), and the Invest in Rwanda Roadshows across Nordic capitals (2022), not to mention the recently concluded Rwanda-Nordic Forum in April 2025 in Kigali, Rwanda.
The Nordic countries have significantly contributed to Rwanda’s transformation journey. From Sweden’s long-term support through SIDA and academic collaboration involving 18 Swedish universities, to the establishment of innovation hubs like Norrsken and Bag Innovation, the partnership continues to yield tangible outcomes. Recent $5M and $10M risk-sharing facilities between the Swedish Embassy, I&M Bank, and Bank of Kigali are enabling Rwandan SMEs to thrive in sectors such as ICT, agriculture, and renewable energy.
Denmark’s new Africa strategy, which includes opening an embassy in Kigali, underpins increasing bilateral cooperation in green growth and climate resilience.
In December 2024, IFU (The Danish investment Fund for Developing Countries) Supported Banque Populaire du Rwanda with a guarantee Facility worth USD 5.6 million. This partnership, involving Access to Finance Rwanda aims to enabling BPR Bank to offer loans with up to 70% guarantee coverage. This scheme, the first of its kind by IFU in Africa will significantly reduce collateral requirements and improve access to financing for Rwanda’s Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), in productive sectors of the economy such as agriculture, tourism and hospitality, renewable energy, ICT, logistics, and businesses owned by women and youth
Meanwhile, Finland continues to foster strong educational collaborations through projects like HEP-TED Higher Education Pedagogies for Teachers Education Development and BERT involving 6 universities and business ties through projects,
The Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs granted 1.1 million euros for the Higher Education Pedagogies for Teacher Education (HEP-TED) project (1/2024–8/2026), which aims to develop and strengthen the capacity of Rwandan higher education institutions (HEIs). Four of the biggest universities in Finland: University of Helsinki, Tampere University, Tampere University of Applied Sciences, and Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences are working together with the University of Rwanda – College of Education, Rwanda Polytechnic, and Higher Education Council for three outcomes:
- Improve management capacities by developing quality assurance mechanisms.
- Improve the quality of teacher education by changing behaviors, practices, and pedagogies in general teacher education and training of TVET teachers.
- Strengthen capacities for cross-institutional collaboration by adopting a collaborative approach that emphasises joint activities among diverse institutions in Rwanda.
Already remarkable results are there, only 1 year into implementation. Basically, a team of Rwandans come to Finland every second month and a Finnish team come to Rwanda every second month.
This project has given an ERASMUS+ funded spinoff project with a budget of 300,000 EUR for Rwandan higher learning institutions lecturers and staff residencies in Finland for year 2025
- The Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs granted 863,273 EUR for an education collaboration development project 2023-2026 “Breaking Education Barriers: Inclusion, Rehabilitation, and Technology (BERT)” involving Jamk University of Applied Sciences, Institute of Rehabilitation, Tampere University, State University of Zanzibar (SUZA), and University of Rwanda, Center of Excellence in Biomedical Engineering and eHealth (CEBE) to support the inclusion of students with disabilities through promoting multidisciplinary rehabilitation accessibility (inc. digital) and assistive technology in the education system.
This project was a spinoff of another universities and companies co-created project to support emerging markets, drive revenue growth, and create sustainable impact and insights funded by Business Finland under the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs on bridging academia, industry, communities, and policy to build scalable products in social and healthcare.
Bloc Solution , a Finnish company is establishing a factory in Rwanda.
Norway’s support has catalyzed renewable energy development through Scatec Solar, Norfund, and Rusizi III. With companies like Katapult and Empower New Energy exploring expansion into Rwanda, the innovation and impact-driven agenda is gaining ground.
Now joined by the Baltic countries, the 2026 Forum welcomes Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania; nations widely acclaimed for their digital leadership. Estonia, in particular, stands out as a global model for e-governance, cybersecurity, and digital public services. Its e-Residency and secure digital infrastructure can serve as blueprints for Rwanda’s own digitization journey. Latvia and Lithuania also bring formidable expertise in fintech, biotech, and regulatory sandboxes, enriching the Forum’s innovation landscape.
Building on Past Success
The Rwanda Business Forum in Finland (2023), and the recently concluded Rwanda-Nordic Forum in April 2025 in Kigali, Rwanda, showcased the power of collaboration, drawing high-level participation and resulting in the signing of nine MoUs. Participants praised the seamless organization, meaningful engagement, and clear pathways for partnership. The successful outcomes and impacts to follow were mostly based on a new approach to get in contact with the investors and a new method of pre-forum matchmaking between them and the Rwandan counterparts. This coming Forum will build on that momentum, offering enhanced matchmaking, deal-making spaces, and focused sessions that translate discussions into action.
Purpose of the Forum
To strengthen bilateral and multilateral ties, catalyze sustainable investments, and drive innovation-led growth between Rwanda and the Nordic and Baltic regions, there by leveraging Rwanda’s strategic role as a hub for East Africa.
Objectives
- Facilitate Strategic Partnerships: Connect businesses, investors, government leaders, and educational institutions from both regions.
- Promote Trade and Investment: Position Rwanda as a gateway to the East African market for Nordic and Baltic enterprises.
- Showcase Rwanda’s Business Environment: Highlight regulatory reforms, investment incentives, and success stories.
- Foster Two-Way Market Access: Equip Rwandan businesses with insights on accessing the Nordic and Baltic markets.
- Accelerate Knowledge and Innovation Sharing: Promote joint ventures and policy dialogue in ICT, e-governance, health tech, Fintech, education, and sustainability.
- Showcase progress of implementation of signed Agreements from previous for a
- Foster Cultural Exchanges and Understanding
Themes and Focus Areas
- ICT & Digital Innovation (Fintech, AI, Cybersecurity, IoT, Digital Infrastructure, E-commerce).
- Smart Governance & E-Governance Inspired by Baltic digital models, including Estonia’s digital identity systems.
- Education & Research Higher education, inclusive pedagogy, digital learning, and vocational training.
- Health Tech & Clinical Trials Leveraging Nordic and Baltic innovation in digital health and diagnostics.
- Renewable Energy & Green Growth Clean cooking, solar energy, climate resilience, circular economy.
- Agribusiness & Agro-processing Coffee, tea, and modern food systems, Fast moving consumer goods and packaging.
- Sustainable Manufacturing & Mining Wood, textiles, green minerals.
- Financing & Resource Mobilisation
- Tourism, Arts & Culture Cross-cultural exchanges and creative economy.
Expected participants:
- 150 Companies from The Nordics and The Baltics
- 30 Universities from the Nordics and the Baltics
Expected Outcomes
- Formalized partnerships, i.e.,
- Increased investments through Foreign Direct Investments, Joint Ventures, Franchising/Licensing, Agencies for business,
- Double degree/Twin degree between educational institutions
- Artists/cultural centers
- Strengthened business-educational-community and Innovative ecosystems (Linkage between Academia and Private companies initiated and strengthened )
- Enhanced trade and digital cooperation
- Joint Ventures in various sectors
Conclusion
The Rwanda-Nordic-Baltic Forum 2026 is a unique opportunity to create transformative partnerships between regions known for sustainability, innovation, and resilience. Rwanda’s ambition as a regional hub meets the Nordic and Baltic expertise in digitization, green growth, and inclusive development, offering a shared path toward prosperity.
This Forum is designed to be action-oriented, supporting companies, organizations, and institutions aiming to enter and scale across East Africa, with Rwanda as the gateway. Participants will benefit from a tailored roadmap for success, beginning up to six months ahead of the Forum through curated preparatory activities, and culminating in the signing of partnerships, client agreements, or joint ventures during the event itself.