Country
Rwanda

Local project partner
Ministry of Economic Planning and Finance,
Ministry of Trade and Industry,
Ministry of Local Government,
National Bank of Rwanda,
Association of Microfinance Institutions in Rwanda (umbrella organisation)

German project partner
Sparkasse Heidelberg

Donor
Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ)

Duration
01.09.2015 - 30.09.2021

Today, there are almost 500 independent microfinance institutions in Rwanda, most of them in the legal form of a savings and credit co-operative (SACCO). Although this means that there is access to financial services throughout the country and the Rwandan population is largely considered to be financially inclusive, the quality of the services is still very much in need of improvement. The very small institutions in rural areas in particular are not making the leap to the next level of quality.

The smallest 416 of these institutes, of which there is one in each sector (Umurenge), are to be merged into 30 larger units at district level. According to estimates by the Rwandan Ministry of Finance, these Umurenge SACCOs currently provide over a third of the adult Rwandan population with financial services. The planned mergers can create economies of scale, increase professionalism in the SACCOs and improve the range of services, particularly for the rural population and MSMEs. In the second stage of the project, a central credit institution is to be set up in the form of a giro centre. It will offer the new district SACCOs financial services at favourable conditions that they cannot provide themselves – from access to the national payment system to Depot A business and digital financial services.