{{The World Bank Group on July 18, launched the Financial Inclusion Support Framework (FISF) program for Rwanda. The USD 2.25 million program is a trust fund executed by the World Bank Group and financed by the Dutch Government. }}
It will mobilize technical capacity and knowledge to help Rwanda achieve its financial inclusion goals and targets.
The program will focus on priority areas expected to have the greatest impact based on the country’s financial inclusion agenda.
These include: Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Finance; Financial Consumer Protection; Financial Literacy; Payment Systems, and Financial Infrastructure.
The FISF program is fully aligned with the Government’s Financial Sector Development Plan, FSDPII.
Financial inclusion is a priority for the World Bank Group, to meet the challenge of achieving Universal Financial Access globally by 2020.
Financial inclusion is vital to help overcome the enormous challenge of eradicating extreme poverty and increasing shared prosperity.
Rwanda has made remarkable progress in financial inclusion in recent years. The proportion of adults with financial access, both formal and informal, increased from 47 percent to 72 percent between 2008 and 2012.
This impressive achievement confirms the deep commitment to financial inclusion at the national level, as evidenced by the ambitious objective to raise financial inclusion to 90 percent by 2020.
It also reflects the support and mobilization of all stakeholders, including public and private, towards this goal.
“Rwanda has set an ambitious objective of reaching 80% of formal financial inclusion by 2017, and I am pleased to say that significant progress has already been made towards achieving this target.” said John Rwangombwa, Governor, National Bank of Rwanda.
The new FISF program will partner with and support Rwanda to achieve its financial inclusion goal, with a particular focus on improving access, usage and quality of financial services, especially for underserved populations in rural areas and low-income segments.
“Rwanda is the first country in Sub-Saharan Africa and one of the first two globally to benefit from this program.This program will help Rwanda meet its ambitious financial inclusion goal, through technical assistance, advisory services, and capacity building for far-reaching policy and regulatory reforms as well as critical financial infrastructure development.” said Bertrand Badré, Managing Director and World Bank Group Chief Financial Officer.
“Access to affordable financial services can make a big difference in people’s lifes. It can help them to take better charge of their future. I am very proud that the Netherlands supports this important program”, said Leoni Cuelenaere, Ambassador, Netherlands.
The FISF is the latest addition to the World Bank Group’s engagement in Rwanda.
The World Bank Group is committed to continue providing support for the development of Rwanda’s financial sector, in line with the new Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for Rwanda.
The World Bank is currently working with the National Bank of Rwanda to strengthen financial stability with a USD 2 million trust fund financed by the Financial Sector Reform and Strengthening Initiative (FIRST) Initiative.
Furthermore, IFC is supporting financial and private sector development in the country with an expected investment of USD 20 million during the CPS period.
The new initiative will benefit from close collaboration with government, lawmakers, private sector, development partners, civil society, and academia.
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