Rwanda entrepreneurship policies: A critical look into the health Sector

Abstract

Rwanda has made a giant step towards achievements ofMDGs targets with increase and decrease of key indicators coverages and new strategies are adopted in line with the new agenda of the SDGs. Child mortality rate decreased from 152 to 76 (per 1,000 live births), maternal mortality rate also decreased from 610 to 390 (per 100,000 live births)(NISR, 2010). Prevalence of the three main diseases; HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria; has decreased with strong preventions and treatment strategies.However, the Country have to double efforts to accelerate the progress by eradicating preventable diseases and eliminating maternal and child known and preventable death causes, with a need of new strategies to ensure universal health coverage and equity in health care provision. To accelerate the required progress, the health sector has to change its usual way of doing and attract more private investments in that sensitive sector.Thus,entrepreneurship is becoming more important for the health sector with the creation of companies that develop products and services and/or helps sustaining health. It is in this context that this thesis aims to explore the role of existing entrepreneurship policies to support the development of health sector in Rwanda by identifying their characteristics to determine their contribution to the promotion of entrepreneurship in the health sector but also identifying challenges in startup as highlighted by those policies.To identify these, the study used a content analysis strategy through interpretation of meaning of data in collected entrepreneurship and health policies documents. As results of the study, many characteristics were identified such as an enabling environment, supporting infrastructures, promotion initiatives, education and training but also some health special considerations for enterprises start up and growth were mentioned. As challenges, the study has identified the high cost of doing business, compliance to regulatory framework, difficulty in accessing financial services by being considered as not profitable and therefore not payable, lack of required entrepreneurship skills and access to infrastructures. Therefore, the findings of the thesis are allowing to give to policy makers in Rwanda the recommendation to create a national entrepreneurship ecosystem by involving all concerned actors such as key institutions from different sectors and entrepreneurs themselves.