NCBA Bank Rwanda, formerly Commercial Bank of Africa, announced Tuesday it has contributed Rwf50 million towards the government initiated donations fund aimed at containing the new coronavirus pandemic.

"The Board and Staff of NCBA Bank Rwanda Plc are contributing 50 million Rwandan francs to the COVID-19 donations fund to boost the fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Rwanda,” it said in a statement.

The Kenyan-owned bank subsidiary said the pandemic is severely affecting communities due to the inevitable global and local economic slow-down, and that they have devised relief measures to respond to the crisis.

The bank has, among other things, offered a grace period on principal and interest for up to three months to their clients, a step that many domestic commercial banks have followed to facilitate struggling customers.

NCBA also waived all penalty fees and loan limit reductions for its mobile loans and savings clients (MOKASH), as well as digital transaction fees.

The bank said it’s partnering with some of its partners including telecom giant MTN Rwanda and Huawei to extend further support to the most vulnerable Rwandans who have been affected by the global epidemic.

"NCBA Bank Rwanda is partnering with MTN and Huawei to provide financial support to over 1,500 commercial motorbike riders in Kigali, whose livelihoods have been adversely affected by the restriction on movement to curb the spread of Covid-19,” the statement reads in part.

In these uncertain times, NCBA’s management said, the well-being of our clients and the communities in which "we operate remain a priority.”