Rwanda’s economy is likely to expand by 7.2 percent this year, boosted by the services sector and a rebound in construction, the finance minister said on Friday.

Rwanda. Photo: Shutterstock

The International Monetary Fund, which held a joint press conference with the minister, Claver Gatete, said it expects growth of 7-8 percent.

The East African economy, which relies on farming, grew 6.1 percent last year.

“We don’t see any sort of serious downside risks to this forecast at this time,” the IMF said.

Gatete said growth was expected to pick up to 7.8 percent next year.