RITF has grown by leaps and bounds becoming a strategic platform through which major businesses from around the world have penetrated the Rwandan market. This is made possible through organizing Business to Business meetings as well as Business to Government meetings.
The event mainly showcases products in various sectors such as ICT, banking and finance, agribusiness, arts and crafts, infrastructure, Automotive and general trading.
The recent trade fair which took place from 9th to 30th December 2021 at Gikondo Expo Ground in Kicukiro District of Kigali City, attracted new participants including the East African Business Council (EABC) headquartered in Tanzania.
Speaking to IGIHE; the Executive Director of the East African Business Council (EABC), John Bosco Kalisa has shed light on reasons that attracted the council’s participation and anticipated outcomes.
Kalisa revealed that he has had plans to promote the council’s visibility through participation in different exhibitions held in EAC, which he hopes are being attained gradually.
Kalisa was appointed the Executive Director in June this year. Following his appointment, the council has participated in three regional exhibitions including the ones held in Tanzania and Rwanda.
“The participation helps me to make a step further towards fulfilling my pledge for citizens of the East African community. We also plan to attend more exhibitions in other EAC member states,” he said.
Kalisa went on to explain that creating room for increased investments in one of EAC partner states EAC is part of the council’s mandate.
The participation in exhibitions is also considered an opportunity to lure investors where it has started yielding good results. For instance, Kalisa explained, it has received different businesspeople interested to become EABC members that some of them have started filling forms preceding their admissions.
“Many people miscomprehend EABC as the bloc for large businesses only which is not true. Small businesses are not excluded. Every willing trader is permitted to join. This is the kind of mobilization we have been carrying out at this expo,” he said.
Kalisa further disclosed that the campaign in partnership with host countries has been fruitful evidenced through attracted new countries.
“EABC has conducted mobilization in partnership with Rwanda’s Private Sector Federation. You have seen that this expo has attracted Mozambique, the democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya and Tanzania. Such sensitization is usually a result of joint efforts between EABC and the host country,” he underscored.
EABC was established in 1997 with the mandate of representing and promoting the interests of the EAC business community, provide value-added services that enhance trade and competitiveness, and to participate actively and positively influence legal and regulatory formulation to improve the business environment.
It also seeks to reduce trade barriers in the region.
Commenting on his projections, Kalisa said that he has very challenging projections to take the council to greater heights and expressed optimism to have them achieved within his five-year tenure.
“If God grants me more days of life, I intend to raise the intra trade within EAC from 15% to 40%. It is a hard task to achieve but I believe that God will give me strength to make it happen,” he stressed.
The Bank of the Year Awards celebrates the best of global banking and are regarded as the industry standard for banking excellence. The 2021 edition highlights those institutions that have taken a lead over their peers in terms of performance, strategic initiatives and response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Equity Bank Rwanda was recognized for its solid commitment to the country’s small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) community during a challenging year for the country’s economy.
In the period under review, Equity Bank Rwanda increased its Tier 1 capital by 27% from Rwf 36.2 Billion in 2019 to Rwf 46 Billion in 2020, assets grew by 25% from Rwf 276.1 Billion in 2019 to Rwf 345.3 Billion in 2020, and net profits by 20% to a double digit of Rwf 11.1 Billion from Rwf 9.2 Billion from the previous financial year. To demonstrate a healthy portfolio, Equity’s non-performing loan ratio reduced to 3.58% compared to 3.99% in 2019.
According to The Banker, the 2021 edition of the awards set out to recognize institutions that have risen to the challenge and come through the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic stronger and more resilient. Banks have reacted quickly, changed their ways of working and how they deliver services to customers.
Importantly, institutions have rethought their purpose and role in society, effectively supporting the business and financial interests of their customers when needed most.
While acknowledging the win, Equity Bank Rwanda Managing Director, Hannington Namara said, “We are greatly honoured and humbled to receive this recognition of Bank of the Year Rwanda 2021 award by The Banker. The award is a clear demonstration of a bank that remains relevant even during the trying times. A testament of operating true to our commitment to provide inclusive financial services that transform livelihoods, give dignity, and expand opportunities for wealth creation.”
The performance was mainly driven by strategic initiatives that were positively impactful to the society during the pandemic year.
The Bank established partnerships with Enterprise Partner Solutions (ESP) and Mastercard Foundation in the creation of a COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience program which committed US$2.5 million to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the tourism and hospitality sector being one of the hardest- hit sectors.
This is in line with the business focus on being at the frontline in building the economy better and stronger. So far, the program has supported 120 SMEs in the two sectors both financially and technically at all stages of maturity, plus their value chains.
The Bank further supported SME customers affected by the COVID-19 through loan restructures and signed a $10M guarantee agreement with African Guarantee Fund to cover 50% of all SMEs exposures that were restructured including new SME loans.
This was in a bid to support the SMEs business to recover with resilience.
Plans are also in place to partner with all UN organisations in Rwanda and other partners willing to work with the Bank to support customers recover. These include partnerships to support the young people through the Young Africa works program in deal Mastercard.
To ensure seamless digital operations, and to boost its trade finance offering and in compliance with the Government’s law N° 63/2007 to stop any manual tendering, Equity got an off-the-shelf solution to automate the processes. This has shown a rise in compliance and more SMEs are using the platform. In addition, the Bank has created several trade finance products that target SME customers and retail markets.
The Bank continues to lead in digital transformation journey through innovation.
Equity Rwanda upgraded its Eazzy Suite, which include EazzyBanking App, Equity USSD *555#, EazzyNet, EazzyBiz, EazzyLoan and EazzyAPI that have delivered an unmatched increase in use over time. By end of 2020, 92% of all transactions were conducted outside brick and mortar. Leveraging off technology, local offerings are availed to a global setting through Diaspora Banking department to individuals working and living abroad.
Through EazzyNet Online, EazzyBanking App and Fintech integration with International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) who include World Remit, Ria, Transfast, Terra, Hello Paisa, Wave, Small world, Money Gram, Western Union, Home Send, Thunes, Ping express, and PayPal. These enabled Diaspora remittances to rise by 378% in 2020 from Rwf 13Billion to Rwf 62Billions while commissions grew by 330% from Rwf 162Million to Rwf 697Million in the same period.
The Bank envisages that the trends will continue to disrupt thus the strengthening of technology capabilities through increased investments in specialist human and technological resources to ensure cutting edge products and services.
The Bank of the Year Awards 2021 by the Banker, a monthly international financial affairs publication owned by The Financial Times Ltd, is a continental awarding showpiece that recognizes and acknowledges excellence in the banking sector drawn from the world’s leading financial institutions. They are judged on their ability to deliver returns, gain strategic advantage, and serve their markets. In 2020, Equity Bank’s South Sudan, DRC and Rwanda subsidiaries emerged winners in the Bank of the year category.
{{About Equity Bank Rwanda}}
Equity Bank Rwanda began its operations in 2011 and is registered as a commercial bank by the National Bank of Rwanda. The Bank has its Head Office located in Kigali, with a foot-print of 15 branches and is supported by 3173 agents, 1861 merchants and a network of 22 ATMs.
Equity Bank Rwanda is a subsidiary of Equity Group Holdings Plc, a financial services company listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange, Uganda Securities Exchange, and Rwanda Stock Exchange. In addition to Equity Bank Rwanda, the Group has banking subsidiaries in, Kenya, South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, DRC, and a Commercial Representative Office in Ethiopia. It has other subsidiaries in investment banking, insurance, telecom, fintech and social impact investments.
Equity Group is the largest bank in the region in assets of Kshs 1.2 trillion (USD 12 billion). It is also the biggest bank in deposits, market capitalization of USD 2billion and with a customer base of over 15 million customers. The Group has a footprint of 337 branches, 58,756 Agents, 34,941 Merchants, 691 ATMs and an extensive adoption of digital banking channel.
The Banker Top 1000 World Banks 2021 ranked Equity Bank 754 overall in its global ranking, 62nd in soundness (Capital Assets to Assets ratio), 55th in terms of Profits on Capital and 20th on Return on Assets. The Banker’s Top 100 African Banks 2020 placed the Bank in position 7 overall among the top 10 Banks in Africa, 5th place on soundness, position 9 on growth performance, 8th on return on risk and position 6th in terms of profitability and on leverage category.
In the same year, Moody’s gave the Bank a global rating of B2 with a negative outlook same as the sovereign rating of the Kenyan government due to the Bank’s strong brand recognition, solid liquidity buffers and resilient funding profile, established domestic franchise and extensive adoption of digital and alternative distribution channels. Equity Group Holdings Plc is regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya.
Among others, the bank registered a profit after tax of Rwf5.4 billion, reflecting a 46% growth over last year.
According to the lender’s management, the growth has been supported by increased net interest income which rose by 21% from the levels in 2020, closing the period at Rwf 20 billion.
The operating income for the Bank increased to Rwf24 billion, a 15% increase year on year.
Commenting on the financial results, Mr. Robin Bairstow, the CEO of I&M Bank (Rwanda) PLC said that the results highlight the bank’s efforts in improving digital infrastructure in line with its strategy and aspiration to be Rwanda’s leading financial partner for growth.
“We will continue building state-of-the-art digital platforms and growing the MSME sector which significantly supports the Rwandan economy,” he noted.
During the period under review, the Bank’s balance sheet and income metrics improved on the backdrop of a solid capital base and liquidity.
The Bank’s asset base rose to Rwf 435 billion, reflecting a 4% year on year growth as a result of an increase in the loan book and investments in government securities.
The Bank’s customer lending portfolio also grew by 6% to Rwf 217 billion in September 2021 (Rwf205 billion in September 2020).
Besides, the quality of the loan book improved with the Non-Performing Loans (NPL) ratio of 3.6 %.
The Bank closed the period with Rwf298 billion of customer’s deposits, and a loan-to-deposit ratio of 73%. The Liquidity coverage ratio stood at 415% as at end September 2021
Among others, the Shareholder’s Equity of the Bank grew to Rwf 60 billion, up from Rwf 54 billion as at 31st December 2020.
The Bank’s net fees and commission income also increased by 14% on the back of income from digital products and an increase in off balance sheet income.
The Bank improved its cost-to-income ratio to 60% from 64% for the year before, while also maintaining a positive cost/income jaws (after impairment) of 11%.
The total operating expenses for the Bank was at Rwf14 billion, which reflected a 6.7% year on year increase on account of increased investment in digitisation while bank’s loan impairment charges for the period stood at Rwf 1.5 billion, which is 20% lower year on year, in light of improved macroeconomic conditions and despite a challenging start of the year for all stakeholders.
{{Commitment to creating value}}
Commenting on the Bank’s commitment to create long term value to all the stakeholders, the CEO Mr. Bairstow said that underpinning performance is the lender’s commitment to being thereour customers and for the community it serves.
“Throughout this pandemic period, we lent our full weight on safeguarding the lives and livelihoods of our staff through implementation of remote working, as well as conducting staff wellbeing and mental-health programs. For our customers, we created long term value by leading from the front in the fight against COVID-19 through moratoria, government supported lending and other support measures.
Through the IFE grant, the bank has helped to retain over 1,900 jobs in 139 MSMEs,” he revealed.
{{Continued investment in digital solutions}}
Speaking on the Bank’s commitment to continuously support innovation through offering digital solutions to customers, Mr. Bairstow said: “We have significantly sustained our contribution in the financial sector over the years. We remain committed to diversifying our financial services and leveraging on existing opportunities to better serve the Rwandan population through investments and partnerships in new technologies.”
He further stated that the bank’s efforts in supporting the growth of the MSME sector was recognized with the Product Innovation of the Year Gold Award at the Global Finance Awards 2021 organized by the SME Finance Forum in partnership with International Finance Corporation (IFC) for delivering outstanding products and services to our SME clients and segment.
“Our MSME division has recorded a customer base growth of 65% over the last year. We will continue to make major investments in digital technology in line with the I&M Group strategy that places digitisation as a key growth accelerator,” he stressed.
In Q4 the Bank plans to continue investing in digital products and services as well as supporting its customers so as to manage net interest income.
It also seeks to continue applying cost management best practices to ensure that healthy margins are maintained.
{{About I&M BANK (RWANDA) PLC}}
Incorporated in 1963, I&M Bank (Rwanda) Plc. is the oldest Bank in Rwanda. It is today one of the leading players in the industry with a strong footprint across the country.
The Bank, which is listed on the Rwanda Stock Exchange (RSE), is a subsidiary of I&M Group PLC, a leading regional financial services group in Eastern Africa. I&M Group PLC has other banking subsidiaries in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda as well as a joint venture in Mauritius and is listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
I&M Group has a long history in banking and has established a wide network of correspondent banks across the globe and enjoys a strong relationship with leading international Development Financial Institutions.
Resilience in execution of an offensive and defensive strategy saw regional subsidiaries grow their Group contribution to deposits to 42% up from 40%, revenue to 37% up from 30% and profit before tax to 26% up from 21%. Agility saw the 27% growth in total funding deployed into public and private sectors resulting in 36% growth in lending.
Diversification driven by a regional approach with operations in 6 countries helped in diversifying sovereign risks and a currency mix risk of 56.6% local currency and 43.4% foreign currency risk mitigating exchange and translation risks. An inclusive business model for all market segments and sectors of the economy and segments and class of the population demography helped to mitigate loan book quality and performance leading to an NPL of 8.9% compared to Kenya industry performance of 13.9% NPLs.
The offensive growth strategy has seen a 23% growth in net loans and advances and a 62% growth in investment in Government securities resulting into a 29% growth in interest income. The growth in earning assets have been funded by a 48% growth in long-term funds of Kshs.104.8 billion up from Kshs.70.7 billion and a 27% growth in customer deposits of Kshs.875.7 billion up from Kshs.691 billion driving total assets growth of 27% to Kshs.1.184 trillion up from Kshs.933.9 billion.
Higher quality non funded income grew faster at 29% to Kshs.31.4 billon up from Kshs.24.3 billion than net interest income which recorded a 23% growth to Kshs.48.5 billion up from Kshs.39.3 billion. FX-trading income grew by 40% to Kshs.5.6 billion up from Kshs.4 billion. E-commerce revenue grew to Kshs.953.5 million up from zero. Bond trading income increased to Kshs.2.6 billion up from Kshs.2.2 billion.
The Group is increasingly shifting from its legacy brick and mortar model of fixed cost structure of branches and ATMs to variable cost, self-service model of client’s own electronic devices or third-party infrastructure. Out of the 975.1 million transactions processed for the 9 months of the year, only 30.1 million transactions or 3% of all transactions were handled at the legacy bank by branches and ATMs with the digital bank handling and processing 945 million transactions or 97% of all the transactions with the self-service customers’ own device mobile channel handling and processing 90% of digital transactions.
“Increasing mobile internet and e-commerce are becoming the preferred channels of choice for payment processing and lifestyle fulfillment with 74% of customers opting for cashless transactions, “said Dr. Mwangi the Group CEO while releasing the results.
Merchants digital payments ‘Pay with Equity” (PWE) transactions grew by 408% from 3.1 million transactions to 15.8 million transactions while the value of the transactions grew by 392% from Kshs.17.1 billion to 84.1 billion. Retail personal internet (Eazzy Net) transactions grew by 287% from 400,000 transactions to 1.5 million transactions with value transacted growing by 404% from Kshs.16.6 billion to Kshs.83.5 billion. Corporate internet banking transactions grew by 42% while the value of transaction grew by 77%. Eazzy App transactions grew by 82% while the volume transacted grew 153%. “Covid has acted as a tail wind to the adoption of digital banking making us transform into a Big Tech in the financial services sector” added Dr. Mwangi.
The Group has continued to closely manage the COVID-19 accommodated loans of Khs.171 billion. Loans worth Kshs.122 billion have resumed repayment, Kshs.4 billion has been downgraded to NPL and provided for (Under stage 3) with Kshs.45 billion constituting 7% of the total outstanding gross loan book of Kshs.608 billion remaining under Covid-19 moratorium.
“We are glad we accommodated our customers to adapt to the COVID-19 environment, to adjust, repurpose and retool their businesses to be fit for purpose in the new normal. This not only kept the lights of our economies on, but helped a lot of businesses survive, retain their employees, support their families and reduce transition of a health pandemic into a social an economic meltdown” added Dr. Mwangi.
Close management of the loan book and strong customer relationship management saw improvement of the PAR (Portfolio at Risk) to 8.9% down from 10.8% with NPL (Non-performing loan) provision coverage improving to 91.2% up from 86% and a coverage of 104% with loan credit guarantee facilitation. The improvement in quality of the loan book and its management had a significant impact on the financial performance of the Group driven by reduction of cost of risk from 4.8% to 1.4% to record a 68% reduction of loan loss provisions to Kshs.4.6 billion down from Kshs.14.3 billion helped record a 3% decline in total operating expenses.
The growth of Group total funding grew by 27% driven by growth in customer deposits by 27% up from Kshs.875.7 billion from Kshs.6.91 billion was matched with a slower pace of growth of loan book of 23% up to Kshs.559 billion from Kshs.453.9 billion. Liquidity ratios strengthened to 59.5% up from 55.7% as a result of increased investment in Government securities which grew by 62% to Kshs.361.3 billion up from Kshs.222.8 billion.
“The strong liquidity position puts us in a pole position to take advantage of market opportunities while deployment into higher yielding asset class with a revenue growth opportunity and better yields and margins.
Efficiency gains resulted in improved cos to asset ratios and cost to income ratio despite the lag in deployment of growth funds to high yielding assets. Best improvements were noted in the more mature subsidiaries of Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda.
Efficiency gains enhanced Group return on Equity to 24% up from 16.9% while return on assets improved to 3.2% up from 2.5%.
Equity BCDC in DRC continued to offer confidence of good investment decision. Deposits grew by 51%, assets by 47%, revenue by 94%, profit before tax 150%. Cost to asset ratio improved from 7.7% to 4.5% while return on Equity improved to 11.1% u from 10%. Giving us strong confidence in our DRC story. We continue to confront the challenges of our subsidiaries in Tanzania and South Sudan
“We are releasing these results at a time that we have taken lessons from our business model of economic and social twin engine. We have confirmed that a shared value business model is economically viable and sustainable. Doing well can go hand in hand with doing good. Our corporate social arm, Equity Group Foundation has scaled its operations to reach a spend od US$513 million in social investment programs, reaching 37,000 secondary school Wings to Fly scholarships, 17,000 University scholarship under the Equity Leadership Program, 3,000 TVET scholarships and 700 Global university scholarships, while 46 Equity Afia clinics are now operational with 572,707 patients visits. To support global initiatives to combat climate change, we have planted 7.1 million trees and financed and distributed 303,000 clean energy products,” said Dr. Mwangi.
“To help build back better and support the world’s focus on purpose we have scaled our financial inclusion programs reaching 2.3 million women and youth with an 11-week financial training programs. We have supported 2.24 million small scale farmers to convert into agri-businesses trained 317,000 MSMEs in entrepreneurship and accessed them Ksh.111.5 billion in credit facilities while offering our Group infrastructure to support disbursement of Kshs.92.7 billion in cash transfers to over 3.4 million households,” added Dr. Mwangi.
Inspired by the work of the Equity Group Foundation and the success of the COVID-19 response programmes, where we contributed US$1.7 million to support public and faith based hospital with Personal Protection Equipment’s (PPEs) and accommodating our borrowers with principal plus interest repayment breaks of up to 3 years. We are launching an ambitious US$5 billion business and private sector COVID-19 recovery program.
The audacious post Covid-19 recovery program entails supporting 5 million SMEs with loans up to Kshs.0.5 trillion to accelerate recovery and growth and growth post COVID-19 with a view of creating 25 million direct jobs and another 25 million indirect jobs. The initiative is in partnership with governments of the 6 countries we have operations in and will centre on promotion of cross border trade under the East African community and African Continental Free Trade Area protocols. The program has won the support of United Nations (UN) under the sustainable development goals template, Development Banks, Mastercard Foundation under our Young Africa Works partnership and the Private Sector business actors” added Dr. Mwangi.
Today we take a look back on the stock of different initiatives designed to support entrepreneurs and forge the way forward to foster their contribution to the society in different aspects.
The African Management Institute (Rwanda) is one of the actors in the business ecosystem proud of enabling ambitious businesses across Africa to thrive, through practical tools and training.
AMI Rwanda has worked with a range of businesses and organisations to support entrepreneurs and managers build and grow their businesses across Rwanda including Mastercard Foundation, Rwanda Development Board, The Rwandan Chamber of Women Entrepreneurs, RwandAir, Radisson Blu, The Rwandan Chamber of Young Entrepreneurs among others.
Partnering with organisations such as Rwanda Girl Guides allows AMI to work with women-led businesses and support them on their journey to push boundaries, build industries and create jobs.
Through the partnership, 487 female entrepreneurs from across the country have attended and completed AMI’s Business Survival Bootcamp programme. The bootcamp teaches participants how to adapt their business to the current challenges and connects them with a network of peers. Through the Rwanda Girl Guides Association partnership, AMI will train around 1,000 women-owned businesses.
To date, women make up 43% of all participants in AMI’s Business Survival Bootcamp in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, and the journey continues.
Five of them have shared what inspires them and tipped aspiring entrepreneurs facing constraints occasioned by COVID-19 pandemic on the way to success.
These include Pacifique, Vanessa, Nadine, Valentine and Claudine among others who participated in [African Management Institute (AMI) programmes->https://www.africanmanagers.org/ami-rwanda/] through an innovative partnership with the Rwanda Girl Guides Association.
The beneficiaries have shared their experience and what being entrepreneurs means to them.
{{Pacifique Igiraneza, Shop Owner in Kicukiro, Kigali}}
For Pacifique Igiraneza, being an entrepreneur comes with a great sense of responsibility. She is determined to leave a mark in her community as she works hard to achieve her goals.
“Do not give up. If you haven’t yet started your business, start with what you have, you will keep growing step by step,” says Igiraneza.
{{Vanessa Umutesi, Isaro Ltd, Nyarugenge}}
Vanessa Umutesi says that running owning business gives her a sense of purpose and courage. She dreams big and is happy with what she has achieved so far.
“Don’t just sit back and be too afraid of running a business. What matters is the idea you have in mind. Work hard to achieve your goals and build a better future for yourself,” says Umutesi.
{{Nadine Umwali, Poultry Farmer in Nyamagabe}}
Nadine Umwali is a poultry farmer and proud that her business supports her family, community and her country. She is pleased with the progress her business has made and that young people have started to look up to her.
“It’s good to be self-employed. Starting a business doesn’t require a lot of capital. All you need is a great idea. It is also important to take part in different business training programmes as they are not demanding and you learn a lot. I encourage you to be confident and start your own business,” says Nadine.
{{Valentine Ishimwe, Clothes Wholesaler in Nyarugenge}}
Ishimwe is proud that she can now rely on herself and is able to save money to invest in future projects.
“Don’t be discouraged when your business isn’t going well. It’s part of the hustle. Business is like our daily lives, you may be happy today but sad tomorrow. Therefore, we have to be resilient and work hard,” says Valentine.
Mukandayambaje is a passionate entrepreneur who celebrates her wins as they come and is eager to continue working hard to grow her business.
“Keep on doing good work because it makes a difference in the community. Don’t ever give up even if you face losses, that’s just how business works. The best is yet to come,” says Mukandayambaje.
The African Management Institute uses a unique approach to equip entrepreneurs with tools to build their businesses, help companies train their teams and run work readiness programmes for young people starting their careers. Online resources are combined with hands-on experience to support individuals participating in AMI’s programmes.
When COVID-19 hit in March last year, our programmes at AMI shifted from a blended model to fully virtual, and focused on supporting as many MSMEs as possible, leveraging our existing virtual engagement experience and robust online learning platform and content.
We focused on supporting business owners not just to thrive, but to survive and keep their doors open.
{{Do you want to celebrate Women Entrepreneurs in Rwanda with us? Here are a few actions you can take:}}
● If you are the owner of an MSME in Rwanda – learn more about our Business Survival Bootcamp and Survive To Thrive Programme to take immediate action to protect your business’ resilience through fundamental business skills.
● If you’re a former participant or current AMI participant in one of our programmes, reach out to other entrepreneurs to share this article and motivate them to take the next steps to build resilience and skills for their businesses.
● If you’re an organisation or institution that wants to scale your impact and reach more MSMEs, contact our partnerships team at rwanda@africanmanagers.org
● Follow AMI Rwanda on social media ([Twitter->https://twitter.com/RwandaAMI], [Facebook->https://web.facebook.com/RwandaAMI?_rdc=1&_rdr], [Instagram->https://www.instagram.com/rwandaami/]) or call our helpline on 1000 and learn more about our latest updates.
As part of its overall strategy, the bank aims to make it easy for customers to access credit from the bank.
It has therefore, reviewed and amended the main credit access conditions for personal banking loans including Home loans, Personal loans, Home Equity and Vehicle loans.
The key adjustments made include the unsecured personal loans limit that has been increased from Rwf 15 million up to Rwf30 million.
Monthly installments on Home, Personal and Vehicle loans will be up to 50% of the customer’s net monthly disposable income up from the existing limit of 35% of the customer’s net monthly income.
Among others; the amount the bank can lend in form of Home Equity will be up to 70% of the assessed market value of the property while A customer with an existing loan in the bank and has repayment capacity as stated above is eligible to access top ups on their current loan balance.
Commenting on the announcement, Banque Populaire Du Rwanda Plc, Managing Director, Mr. Maurice K. Toroitich said that the move is part of the bank’s strategic initiative to make it easy for our customers to do business with us. Reviewing and adjusting our existing loan conditions is therefore aimed at simplifying and making it possible for our customers to achieve their goals.
“We exist as a bank to make it possible for all our stakeholders to achieve their goals, and we are always looking for those barriers in policies, processes and systems that make it difficult especially for our customers to do business with us, so that we redefine them to become simpler and easier to serve our customers. That’s why we have reviewed our existing credit access conditions to be able to offer a compelling value propositions to our customers to enable them to make progress,” he said.
Both new and existing BPR customers with a stable monthly income are eligible to access up to Rwf 30 million in unsecured personal loans, if they fulfill all the terms and conditions. Under the new criteria, BPR customers with an existing loan facility will also be eligible for a loan top up.
Xavier Shema Mugisha, the bank’s Chief Business Officer also highlighted that by increasing the limit on unsecured personal loans, and increasing the monthly repayment limit up to 50% of the customer’s net monthly income, the bank is striving to improve the livelihoods of its clients after identifying that the existing conditions were challenging to a big number of customers.
“The previous Unsecured Loan limit of Rwf15 million often limited consumers’ options in acquiring assets or other needs. For example, “customers taking out loans to purchase assets such as land or a vehicle, the previous amount limited options for the acquisition but now with the new changes, customers will have the opportunity and freedom to do more and improve their ways of living,” he noted.
BPR customers who are eligible and want to access a loan top up can visit their nearest branch to start the application process.
{{About BPR Bank }}
The BPR journey started in 1975 as a community based savings and credit scheme and subsequently transformed to become a fully-fledged commercial bank in 2008 with a core focus in Retail and SME Banking.
In January 2016, Atlas Mara acquired a stake in BPR, which was subsequently merged with Atlas Mara’s existing operation, BRD Commercial Bank that resulted in the merged entity becoming the second largest bank with operations cross Retail, SME and Corporate Banking. In August 2021, KCB Group Plc acquired majority shareholding in the company through the purchase of all the shares held by ATMA and ARISE BV. Consequently, BPR Plc is now a subsidiary of KCB Group Plc. BPR currently operates through an extensive network of 137 branches, 51 ATMs and 350 bank agents across the
Working with a trusted business partner, making well-informed decisions and striking the balance to treat stakeholders and clients fairly are among key considerations driving efficiency, taking the business to greater heights and create path for the business to thrive and generate more profits.
In addition to existing conducive business environment and security, investors need not to worry as they have got another reason to stick to Rwanda’s openness for businesses.
With an average annual growth rate of 8.6% over the past 10 years, Rwanda is one of Africa’s fastest growing economies which is now poised to become one of the continent’s leading financial centres. It is ranked second in sub-Saharan Africa in the World Global Rule of Law Index and second for ease of doing business. Rwanda is also recognized as the least corrupt, safest and first in terms of network readiness on the continent.
Among others, Rwanda has established a strong Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) network with many countries and the country is extending its network in Africa and with leading developing economies. The country has also entered into Investment Protection Agreements with several countries such as USA, Germany, Belgium and South Korea.
With long-standing experience, JurisTax Group has again proved its prowess as a reliable partner to lean on as it continuously strives to take the lead in the provision of tax advisory and related services with the expansion of footprints to Rwanda and local offices that will set a benchmark for regional presence.
The recent coming to Rwanda also adds up to the country’s ambitions to become an investment hub where almost all services for investors are pooled together.
Established in 2018, JurisTax Rwanda Ltd is part of JurisTax Group which is based in Mauritius since inception in 2008. The group has presence in Dubai, Seychelles, China, South Africa and Rwanda.
The company’s presence in Rwanda makes it the first local Trust Company Service Provider regulated by the National Bank of Rwanda (BNR). It is also member of Kigali International Financial Center (KIFC) making it easier to provide a full range of support services to clients, including corporate set up, administrative, accounting and secretarial matters.
According to Mrs Murorunkwere N. Lydie, the group has expanded footprints to Rwanda and joined the KIFC to be able to support different financial services companies aspiring to bring their investments to Rwanda.
Apart from that, the local subsidiary also looks forward to building capacity in the Rwandese market, in collaboration with a training institute based in Kigali (Africa Institute of Training & Development Ltd – AITD) to deliver high-quality trainings to equip the Rwandese professionals with the most up-to-date skills and knowledge needed to efficiently handle the contemplated influx of business in the Rwandese market.
With 2000 clients globally, JurisTax Group manages today a portfolio of US$5billion with major customers coming from the United States of America (USA), Asia, Europe and the African continent.
The group’s subsidiary in Rwanda works with private institutions in different sectors.
As Mrs Murorunkwere explained, the portfolio is growing gradually as Rwanda, through the KFIC, continues to offer different tax incentives to attract investors from around the world.
“JurisTax Group wants to use Rwanda as a channel to lure different investors on the continent after Mauritius. We want to make Rwanda as a gateway for foreign investors from Europe and Asia among others to enter the African market,” she said.
After completing the first point of entrance for investors which begins with registration at Rwanda Development Board (RDB), JurisTax Rwanda Ltd provides support beyond registration be it licensing from different authorities like the Capital market Authority, the National Central Bank, and Ministry of Trade among others.
“We try to work with those investors to understand the nature of business environment because it can take some time when you are not familiar,” said Mrs Murorunkwere.
“JurisTax Rwanda Ltd is not only trying work with the entire ecosystem in terms of regulatory bodies, but also making sure that the company to set up on the local market is going to be compliant with taxation, different laws with due diligence. We need to be cautious, work diligently to ensure new investors come with good reasons and help them develop proactive approaches to de-risk businesses in many ways,” she added.
As Murorunkwere revealed, JurisTax Rwanda Ltd seeks to be the leading trusted corporate service provider on the Region.
The company also mulls penetrating into other neighbouring East African countries.
“We have started creating synergies with other companies in the region so that we can help investors interested to expand businesses in the area. We will grow our African presence step by step but the main transactions are currently based in Rwanda,” she said.
JurisTax Rwanda Ltd is not only helping companies but also individuals with diversified investments through guidance to tap into available opportunities on the local market and helping them to maximize benefits from offered incentives.
Some online marketplaces have land-based stocks used to deliver to clients while others connect buyers and sellers through distributor’s website or application.
Kanis Retail Rwanda Ltd is one of such companies tapping into online platforms to improve service delivery.
Founded by Patel Kalpesh, Kanis Retail Rwanda Ltd is a new online store that boasts a wide range of products including, clothes, home appliances like fridges, technology devices, printers, laptops, smartphones, toys, drinks and kitchen utensils among others.
Kalpesh has said that he founded the online shop after realizing hurdles one would go through to find some home appliances by the time he arrived in Rwanda in 2019.
“To find a solution for people who would not access home appliances of their choice easily, I created the online platform so that they can get quality products. The platform boasts a wide range of products with uncompromised quality,” he said.
Kalpesh explained that his platform trades products from renowned manufacturers, plans to increase the products gradually and reduce the time it takes to deliver to clients.
Currently, clients can place orders from more than 5400 products available on the platform. Kanis partners with different companies including LG, Samsung, Apple, Oppo, Hp and Dell to meet customers’ demand delivering brand new products of desired choice.
Patel has revealed that clients have different payment options using MTN Mobile Money or Airtel, cards or pay cash in hand upon delivery of goods. The company is currently offering up to 10 percent discount on every product.
“People should not worry about quality. They just need to visit out platform and select items of their choice to be delivered with no delays. They are of super quality and durable. We remain committed to continue leveraging the power of technology to facilitate people’s transactions,” he said.
The warranty period to repair any defects is also granted depending on the types of purchased products.
{{Business opportunities }}
Merchants with quality products can trade through Kanis platform. The request for partnership is submitted via provided website link www.kanis.rw, to register and fill a designated form. The company visits interested traders to assess the quality of their products before entering agreement to sell through the platform.
“You can make sales through Kanis under our program dubbed ‘kanis affiliate partner’ where a trader can sell products or recommend clients to earn 5% of the total profits,” explained Patel.
The registration is free.
Apart from home appliances, Kanis also has a specific platform www.kanisfood.com designed for delivery of foods ordered from different restaurants in Kigali.
Today, Kanis makes deliveries in Kigali City and plans to expand footprints countrywide.
Interested clients can place orders through the website www.kanis.rw or access products using an application downloaded from Playstore or App store.
The Government of Rwanda targets to increase urbanization rate from 18% to 35% in 2024 to support economic growth.
While Kigali hosts about half of the urban population in Rwanda, a Housing Market Study for Kigali (2012-22) estimates that total housing needs (2012-22) reach 458,256 units, of which 344,068 are to be constructed.
The demand for affordable housing has not been thoroughly researched countrywide yet studies are in preparation where it is estimated to double the total need in Kigali.
This stresses the need to bridge the gap between housing demand and supply for people in low and middle-income segments and high end users.
It also challenges city planners, developers, and banks to seek new approaches to encourage investors to fund housing projects.
Despite existing constraints in housing finance, lending conditions have improved through the introduction of longer credit terms slightly reducing interest rates, a larger and more accessible variety in terms of down-payment options among others.
Ecobank is among other banks that have not been left behind tackling financial issues restraining people with a quest to invest in housing.
With various loan products to support people’s ambitions to grow their finances, the lender added mortgage loan to existing products to keep walking together with clients in their businesses.
Ecobank’s Mortgage Loan finances the borrower’s residential house purchase or renovation.
Every aspect of this loan has been designed to help clients realize their dreams to own homes.
IGIHE has caught up with Olivier Mpenzi, the Head of Personal & Direct Banking at Ecobank Rwanda Plc to speak more about the product promising to turn clients’ dreams into reality.
{{Excerpts:}}
{{In which context Ecobank introduced the mortgage loan? }}
When you buy a home or refinance your mortgages, it’s a big financial decision. By introducing the mortgage loan product, we wanted salaried and self-employed customers to own a house and this will help them to make large purchases.
{{What are key features? }}
{ {{Below are features of the mortgage loan facility:}} }
{{1. Outright Property Purchase}}
This variant of the product provides financing for salary account holders to buy completed properties for residential purposes. It helps our customers achieve their dreams of becoming homeowners.
{{2. Equity Release}}
This is the opportunity for homeowners to have a portion of the value of their properties released to them as cash in other to meet other financial needs.
{{3. Renovation}}
This provides homeowners the opportunity to have access to substantial cash with which they can renovate and upgrade their homes to their required taste; thereby increase the value of the property and the collateral coverage on the loan.
{{4. Estate development}}
This provides opportunity for customers to acquire properties within Estate. The property may also be semi-finished or where payment may be made based on agreed milestone. This also include where individuals come together for the purpose of creating a private Estate.
What are the unique benefits the borrower receives with Ecobank mortgage loan?
Affordable interest rate, annual management fees has been waved, dedicated relationship manager and other added services like, digital tools for customers to be transacting at any time, our goal is to help our customers to stay closely connected from anywhere in the world.
{{Which documents required applying for Ecobank mortgage loan?}}
A mortgage loan is one of offered loan products. When applying for a mortgage, one has to be an existing client channeling his/her salary to Ecobank. Once your salary domiciliation letter is provided to us other administrative documents are very easy to get.
{{How much is the monthly payment?}}
There are many factors taken into consideration while determining mortgage loan payment but we cannot exceed 50% of monthly salary as the maximum repayment capacity.
It also aligns with the regulations the Central Bank’s regulations whereby total monthly payments and other consumer financing does not exceed 50% of the net disposable income.
{{Do you require an inspection to qualify for this mortgage loan?}}
A home is a big investment. The bank will require a valuation report before they decide to finance or to service that loan. Because it’s very important to know about the conditions of the house you’re about to purchase if is in good condition or not in order to mitigate the risk. A valuer will look at the structure of the house and confirm that there are no major issues with the house. Once we have a better picture of the house’s condition, we proceed with the next step.
{{Are there pre-payment penalties with this loan?}}
At Ecobank, we don’t charge any fees for early repayment. Our purpose is not to penalize our clients. As long as you have that capacity to pay loan before, you will liquidate it without penalties.
Besides, you can complete transactions using our online service (Ecobank Online) without necessity for physical presence at the bank’s offices. This is how Ecobank is taking the lead to digitize even more complex processes by tapping into the advantage of digital technology.
{{What is your message to existing and potential clients?}}
First of all, a decision to have or purchase your dream home is one of the most important decisions you can make in your lifetime. I will strongly recommend everyone who doesn’t have a house to think about it and Ecobank will help you to achieve your dream.
Moreover, I encourage them to take advantage of our best loan products for retails meeting their banking needs like Personal Loans, Car Loan, Residential Mortgage Loans, Renovation or Land Purchase and Equity Release.
Generally, the bank’s operating income was Rwf 14.9 billion which is an increase by 20% compared to last year’s performance.
The bank also registered Rwf5.2 billion profit before tax.
The performance was mainly attributed to increased Net Interest revenue, 19% higher than the same period last year and investment in treasury bonds.
The bank’s management has revealed that the financial performance in the first half of the year reflects the quality of deployed strategy which has broadened earnings and strategically positioned it to thrive through the current global health and economic crisis.
“We have posted a solid set of results and we are more pleased with the fact that we have helped retain over 1800 MSME jobs and 240 companies through the IFE [Investing for Employment] grant facility and we are ready to disburse the next tranche of 2.5m €,” said the CEO of I&M Bank Rwanda, Robin Bairstow.
Bonaventure Niyibizi, the Board Chairman of I&M Bank said that the lender posted impressive results despite undoubtedly tough and trying times and managed to remain relevant to its customers and the community by adjusting the way of doing business to meet market needs.
“Going forward, our focus is not just to survive this pandemic, but to thrive beyond it. That is why we are going ahead with our plans to reimagine how we create value for all our stakeholders. We remain focused on supporting the growth of the MSME sector and private in general which we believe is the backbone of the Rwandan economy,” he noted.
