Loans amounting to Rwf10 billion are yet to be recovered by microfinance institutions in the country, according to a recent survey.

The survey was carried out by Restrad Consultancy Ltd and the Association of Microfinance Institutions in Rwanda.

Releasing the findings in Kigali on Tuesday, Speciose Ayinkamiye, a consultant and research team leader at Restrad, said the unpaid loans represent 7.6% of the total Rwf150bn savings.

She said, most of the time, the defaulters sought small loans as the standard amount in SACCOs is Rwf3 million.

"Whoever wants to pay their loans is facilitated in one way or another. They can be helped either by extending the repayment period or reducing the interest rate when it is found that they met serious problems in repaying,” Ayinkamiye said.

The survey also shows that loans given to groups for health insurance are not refunded because of disorganisation of the groups.

Peter Rwema, the executive secretary of the Association of Microfinance Institutions in Rwanda, called on Rwandans to understand the importance of paying back loans.

"What we can tell Rwandans now is that they should understand that it is their responsibility to pay back loans because whenever they fail to do so, they create a loss for all people because SACCOs and microfinances belong to the people,” he said.

"In our survey, we wanted to assess the reasons behind poor loan servicing. In East Africa, Rwanda is not among the worst performing countries as is Burundi, at 10%, and Tanzania at 8.5%. We must increase efforts to cap it at 5% as recommended by the central bank.”

"We will request microfinance institutions to put in more efforts to follow up on loans and quick payment,” Rwema noted.

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