Rwanda's risky bet on a prosperous economic future Rwanda has undergone a radical transformation 23 years after some 800,000 people, mostly from the Tutsi minority, were slaughtered in a 100-day genocide. Now, the country is hoping to bring about an economic transformation too. Growth has averaged seven percent over the past two decades, poverty rates have dropped, health indicators have improved and the World Bank classes Rwanda as the second easiest African country in which to do business. But some observers are concerened about the government's risky strategy of high public spending.