Experts welcomed the guidelines issued by the National Bank of Rwanda (NBR) to deepen women’s financial inclusion and empower the underserved population’s contribution to Rwanda’s economic development.

Launched on September 20, these guidelines aim to equip Rwanda’s financial institutions with a toolkit to account for women’s financial inclusion in their strategic targets and financial products.

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Rwanda has made significant strides in terms of financial inclusion where the last 15 years saw an increased rate from 21 per cent to 77 per cent, in terms of access to formal financial services, however, the gender gap remains at 7 per cent, above the world’s average of 5 per cent.

Taking into account informal savings and credit services, financial inclusion moved from 48 per cent in 2008 to 93 per cent in 2020.

To take financial institutions on board, the guidelines are in four pillars including; integrating women's financial inclusion in strategic goals of all financial institutions, customising financial services and products to women's personal and business needs, while ensuring more women are represented in client-facing roles and leadership positions of Rwanda's financial institutions.

In addition, they are required to leverage digital financial services to deliver services more easily and to a bigger number of women, as well as conduct financial education while breaking social and cultural norms that are still a barrier to women's financial inclusion.

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Soraya Hakuziyaremye, Deputy Governor of NBR, said the central bank has taken different steps towards achieving financial inclusion guided by an objective of stability, sustainability, and inclusivity.

"We are confident that the 2024 FinScope survey will demonstrate further progress, but we must do all we can to safeguard the progress made while addressing challenges that still prevent many of our citizens from accessing and using financial services to create wealth for themselves.”

She emphasised that it is paramount to recognise that the sustainability of the financial ecosystem depends on the central bank’s ability to ensure that financial institutions are sound and stable, but also provide quality and affordable services to those who have been historically underserved.

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Kampeta Sayinzoga, CEO of Rwanda Development Bank (BRD), challenged the players in the financial sector to provide products that are relevant to women, rather than using ‘women-labelled products’ as a marketing tool.

"Many of our institutions have women-labelled products but when you look at them, there is nothing women about them. They have women logos but no incentive to attract them,” she said.

Sayinzoga also emphasised the need for digital services considering that women cannot afford to make as many trips to the banks as men do given their additional responsibilities at home, and also have women in banking positions to facilitate a smooth customer interaction and implementation of these guidelines.

Madeleine Nirere, Chief Ombudsman, welcomed the development and called for careful monitoring of implementation to factor in the need for advisory support for women whose projects are financed, especially in the agriculture sector.

Zano Mataruka, Regional Representative of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), noted that financial inclusion, especially for youth, women, and MSMEs, is a very important aspect of economic development.

The guidelines provide solutions to address barriers to women's financial inclusion both on the demand and supply side, such as mobility constraints, limited access to collateral, low level of financial literacy, and lack of customised products, he observed.