Rwanda: AFR Seals Financial Inclusion Move

Access to Finance Rwanda (AFR) has partnered with the Sustainable Development Goals Centre for Africa (SDGC/A) to promote financial inclusion in Rwanda.

The aim of the partnership, according to the development partners, is to accelerate financial inclusion and inclusive economic growth for the attainment of the SDGs in Rwanda.

The agreement was signed by the AFR Country Director, Jean Bosco Iyacu, and the Acting Director General of the SDGC/A, Caroline Makasa, in Kigali.

Rwanda’s financial sector is made up of nine commercial banks, four microfinance banks, 491 microfinance institutions (MFIs) , including Savings and Credit Co-operatives (SACCOs).

Most of the country’s commercial banks focus on the affluent and middle-class population, according to the Financial Inclusion Insights (FII).

In Rwanda, the majority of commercial banks have not managed to penetrate rural areas, and commercial and microfinance bank branches are mostly located in and around the capital, Kigali.

‘We believe a robust and inclusive financial sector plays a very important role in facilitating the achievement of the SDGs and institutional collaboration as highlighted in SDG 17 on partnerships for the goals is of paramount importance’, Iyacu said.

He said that this partnership with the SDGC/A was timely as AFR enters a new five year-strategy that aims to facilitate a diverse and inclusive financial sector.

For her part, Makasa said that financial inclusion had been embedded in many of the SDGs, which underscores its critical importance.

‘Given the increasing empirical evidence on the role of financial inclusion in the achievement of SDGs, it should get more priority than before’, she said.

Makasa noted that the collaboration between AFR and the SDGC/A is a timely one that will contribute a lot in moving towards full and equal access to formal financial services in the country.

Source: Access to Finance Rwanda

Photo source: Access to Finance Rwanda

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