The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, will loan RWF 3 billion (USD 5 million) to the Rwandan subsidiary of Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Group, a publicly-traded financial services company, to expand its mortgage finance program and for lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Search Results for: Rwanda
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: National Bank of Rwanda (NBR) Incorporates Microfinance Programs as National Strategy to Achieve 80 Percent Access to Finance Target by 2017
The National Bank of Rwanda reportedly plans to leverage a savings and credit cooperative (SACCO) known as Umurenge, financial literacy campaigns and “Access to Finance” forums as part of its strategy to support the country in expanding access to finance to reach 80 percent of the population and reaching a target per capita income of at least USD 1,000 by 2017.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Association of Microfinance Institutions in Rwanda (AMIR) Cautions Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Against “One-Size-Fits-All” Approach, Particularly in Rural Areas
The Association of Microfinance Institutions in Rwanda (AMIR), an 84-member organization that was established in 2007 to build the capacity of the microfinance industry in Rwanda, has cautioned microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Rwanda regarding the risks of offering the same financial products to all clients.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Rwanda’s Bank of Kigali Announces Three Microfinance Products Targeting Rural Financial Inclusion
The Bank of Kigali (BK), a commercial bank based in the Rwandan capital, has announced the development of three microfinance products that will allow rural populations to acquire loans without collateral.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Social Investments of Switzerland Loans $2m to Middle East Micro Credit Company (MEMCC) of Jordan, Urwego Opportunity Bank (UOB) of Rwanda
responsAbility Social Investments AG, an investment company based in Switzerland, recently reported to MicroCapital that it has made local-currency loans totaling the equivalent of USD 2 million to microfinance institutions (MFIs) Middle East Micro Credit Company (MEMCC) of Jordan and Urwego Opportunity Bank (UOB) of Rwanda.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Urwego Opportunity Bank of Rwanda Introduces Mobile Banks to Increase Access to Financial Services in Rural Areas
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.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Association of Microfinance Institutions in Rwanda (AMIR) Seeks Government Support, Tax Breaks
The Association of Microfinance Institutions in Rwanda (AMIR) recently called for government support to address issues that it says are hindering the growth of the country’s microfinance sector.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Unguka Microfinance of Rwanda Reports 58% Profit Increase to $384k
Unguka Microfinance, a microfinance institution (MFI) that was established in Rwanda in 2005, recently reported that its net profit increased 58 percent from RWF 146 million (USD 234,000) in 2009 to RWF 230 million (USD 384,000) in 2010.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Police Blamed for Delay in Efforts to Recover Unpaid Microfinance Loans in Rwanda
A Rwandan taskforce consisting of officials from the justice, local government and internal security ministries, as well as the National Bank of Rwanda (often abbreviated to the French acronym BNR) and the directorate of Public Prosecution, has reportedly blamed the national police force for delays in the recovery of RWF 7.2 billion (USD 12 million) from microfinance borrowers who have failed to repay their loans. So far, RWF 22 million (USD 36,700) of the outstanding funds has been collected.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFTransparency Launches Transparent Pricing Initiative in Rwanda Aiming to Reduce Interest Rates on Microfinance Loans
MFTransparency, a US-based nongovernmental watchdog that focuses on interest rates in the microfinance industry, recently expanded its Transparent Pricing Initiative to Rwanda to educate citizens in that country on interest rates in an effort to impel microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the country to lower microfinance interest rates. Plans for this expansion were announced on this website in October.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Expands Microinsurance in Kenya and Rwanda through Syngenta, International Livestock Research Institute, MicroEnsure
Recently, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), an organization under the World Bank Group that has been a significant source of financing for the microfinance industry, agreed to confer to three microinsurance projects in East Africa a grant of USD 4.1 million, which is expected to allow 35,000 farmers and 5,000 livestock herders in Rwanda and Kenya to protect their crops and livestock from natural disasters.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Rwandan Government Launches 7-year Program for Economic Recovery, Aims to Reach 80% of Population with Financial Services
Rwanda’s government has reportedly launched a 7-year program to bolster its economic activity, including increasing electricity generation and providing financial services that reach at least 80 percent of the country’s population.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFTransparency Launches Transparent Microfinance Pricing Initiative in Rwanda and Uganda
MFTransparency, a US-based nongovernmental organization launched in July 2008 that aims to provide information on credit products and pricing, the Association of Micro Finance Institutions in Rwanda and the Association of Microfinance Institutions of Uganda, are partnering to expand MFTransparency’s Transparent Pricing Initiative to those two countries with the aim of providing training on interest rate calculations, publishing online pricing information and promoting consumer protection.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Blue Financial Services Limited Warns Borrowers to Repay Outstanding Loans in Rwanda
Blue Financial Services Limited, a South African microfinance institution (MFI) that lost its operating license in Rwanda recently, has announced that it may take legal action against Rwandan borrowers who do not pay back outstanding loans.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: National Bank of Rwanda (NBR) Revokes Blue Financial Services’ Operating License
The National Bank of Rwanda (NBR), the central bank of Rwanda, recently reported that Blue Financial Services, a South African microfinance institution (MFI) with reported assets of ZAR 1.5 billion (equivalent to USD 200 million), has lost its operating license in Rwanda after operating in the country for three years, because of “fiscal fraud.”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: South African Microfinance Institution Blue Financial Services Reports Significant Year-End Loss and Recapitalization, Loses Operating License in Rwanda
Blue Financial Services, a South African microfinance institution reporting total reviewed assets equivalent to USD 343 million, has lost its operating license in Rwanda and expects to announce a year-end loss of up to USD 194 million for its fiscal period ended February 28, 2010. Blue attributes the negative results mainly to goodwill and deferred tax asset valuation impairments, an increase in loan loss reserves, reduced funding, early rapid expansion of the business and the weakening of African currencies. The company has entered into an agreement with Mayibuye (Pty) Ltd to provide equity and debt financing. As a result of the recapitalization, Mayibuye will become the majority shareholder.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Rwandan Microfinance Institution Urwego Opportunity Bank (UOB) Reports Lending Fosters Social Reconciliation
Radio Netherlands Worldwide recently reported that microfinance in Rwanda is “booming” and the Netherlands is contributing to this “success” [1]. One of the potential effects of the rise of microfinance in Rwanda is social reconciliation. Faustin Zihiga, the Chief Operating Officer of Urwego Opportunity Bank (UOB) of Rwanda, the largest microfinance bank in Rwanda among those reporting to the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX Market), suggests that in group-lending programs, survivors of the genocide mix in the same groups as perpetrators of the genocide. They begin to associate themselves by their group, not by their ethnic background. According to Zihiga, the social change is often even more visible than the economic change that microfinance brings about [3].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MasterCard Foundation, CARE Canada, Aga Khan Foundation Canada (AKFC) to Extend Microfinance Services in Tajikistan and Rwanda
The MasterCard Foundation, a private Canadian foundation that supports microfinance; CARE Canada, an international humanitarian organization; and the Aga Khan Foundation Canada (AKFC), a nonprofit organization that supports international development, recently announced that they are providing CAD 9 million (the equivalent of USD 8.8 million) to fund two new programs that aim to extend savings services to 900,000 residents of Tajikistan and Rwanda.