Urwego Opportunity Bank (OUB), a microfinance institution (MFI) based in Rwanda, recently introduced mobile banks to address the lack of banking services for savings and credit cooperatives (SACCOs) and individuals in rural areas. The mobile banks are operating vans in rural areas at no extra cost to deliver cash in the morning when SACCOs open for business and collect deposits from SACCOs in the evenings. OUB also plans to deploy mobile banks to markets and trading centers to facilitate individual banking. OUB’s shareholders include nonprofit organizations Hope International, Opportunity International, World Relief and World Relief Canada.
Francois Kanimba, governor of the central bank of Rwanda, reportedly said he anticipates that similar initiatives will help to boost further the availability of financial services in rural areas. To this end, the government of Rwanda has set a financial inclusion objective to extend services to 80 percent of the population by 2017, up from the current 21 percent. In 2009, OUB reported to US-based, nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) total assets of USD 10.8 million, a gross loan portfolio of USD 6.4 million, return on assets (ROA) of -6.57 percent, return on equity (ROE) of -16.5 percent and 33,900 borrowers.
By Jacqueline Foelster, Research Associate
About Urwego Opportunity Bank (UOB): Created as a result of a merger between Urwego Community Banking and Opportunity International Bank of Rwanda, UOB is a microfinance institution headquartered in Kigali, Rwanda. Its services include loan and savings products, business training, HIV/AIDS training and insurance coverage. OUB’s shareholders include nonprofit organizations Hope International, Opportunity International, World Relief and World Relief Canada.In 2009, UOB reported to US-based, nonprofit, Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) total assets of USD 10.8 million, a gross loan portfolio of USD 6.4 million, return on average (ROA) of -6.57 percent, return on equity (ROE) of -16.5 percent and 33,900 borrowers.
Source and Additional Resources:
[1] All Africa, April 18, 2011, “Rwanda: Mobile Banks to Promote Rural Financial Inclusion”, http://allafrica.com/stories/201104180231.html
MicroCapital.org Brief, May 13, 2010, “Rwandan Microfinance Institution Urwego Opportunity Bank (UOB) Reports Lending Fosters Social Reconciliation”, https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-rwandan-microfinance-institution-urwego-opportunity-bank-uob-reports-lending-fosters-social-reconciliation/
MicroCapital Universe Profile: Urwego Opportunity Bank, https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Urwego+Opportunity+Bank#Urwego_Community_Banking
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