BPR Bank Rwanda names interim MD as Patience Mutesi prepares to step down

Her departure was announced in a statement dated October 23, 2026, signed by KCB Group CEO Paul Russo.

Mutesi will be succeeded on an interim basis from November 1 by Xavier Mugisha Shema, the bank’s current Executive Director of Commercial Businesses.

According to the statement, Mutesi requested to leave the position to pursue other interests.

KCB Group thanked her for her contribution to the bank’s leadership, particularly during the transition following the merger of BPR and KCB Bank Rwanda.

Mutesi was appointed as Managing Director of BPR Bank Rwanda in late 2022 and officially assumed the role on February 1, 2023.

Before joining the bank, she served as TradeMark East Africa’s Rwanda country director from 2016. She also held various positions at Ecobank Rwanda and Banque Commerciale du Rwanda (BCR), which later became I&M Bank Rwanda.

BPR’s growth and financial performance

BPR traces its origins to 1975, when it was established in Nkamba, in the former Kibungo Prefecture, to help communities save money and access loans.

By 1986, community banks operating across the country had been consolidated under the Union des Banques Populaires du Rwanda (UBPR). The institution became a commercial bank in 2008 and adopted the name Banque Populaire du Rwanda (BPR).

In 2021, Kenya’s KCB Group acquired a 76.67% stake in BPR. The National Bank of Rwanda approved the merger of KCB Bank Rwanda and BPR in March 2022, with the combined institution, BPR Bank Rwanda Plc, commencing operations on April 1, 2022.

Under Mutesi’s leadership, the bank reported a profit of Rwf25.9 billion in 2023, up from Rwf22.3 billion in 2022.

In 2024, its profit after tax increased by approximately 14.7% to Rwf29.7 billion, while profit before tax stood at Rwf43.1 billion.

The bank’s 2025 annual report showed that profit after tax rose to Rwf40.9 billion. Its total assets also increased significantly, reaching Rwf1.405 trillion, compared with Rwf971.9 billion in 2024.

On May 19, 2026, Mutesi said the bank expected its profit to grow by at least 20% compared with 2025.

BPR Bank Rwanda is one of the country’s major lenders, with an extensive branch network and customer base. It operates as a subsidiary of KCB Group, a financial services group headquartered in Kenya.