Savings into the Rwanda National Investment Trust (RNIT) Iterambere Fund increased by more than 32 per cent to Rwf14.43 billion in July 2020 from Rwf10.91 billion in December 2019.

This situation suggests how Covid-19 pandemic might have had a silver lining as far as proving the need for making savings for a rainy day is concerned.

As of July 2020, such savings came from more than 5,000 retail investors, over 24,200 members from Funds belonging to different entities, and nine institutional investors.

Iterambere Fund which is a unit trust or a kind of collective investment fund was launched in July 2016, and had collected more than Rwf1.464 billion in December 2017, implying that it has continued an upward growth trend up to now.

Annualised return – interest per year – on savings into the Fund was 10.76 per cent in 2020 from 9.77 per cent in 2017.

The net asset value per unit (NAV), which is the worth of a unit, increased by 46.58 per cent from Rwf100 in 2016 when the Fund was launched to Rwf146.58 in 2020.

Jonathan Gatera Sebagabo, the chief executive of RNIT Ltd which manages the Fund told The New Times that there was a worry that Covid-19 pandemic could make people withdraw more savings in a way that would hinder the growth of the Fund.

He said that the amount of savings that are withdrawn from the Fund is high in January when it is the return to school as parents want to pay the school fees for their children, or events to celebrate the new year.

However, he said that the amount of withdrawn savings went higher in June and July when people who saved into the Fund wanted to get money to respond to their urgent needs after Covid-19 induced lockdown made them unable to do income-generating jobs.

 "We were worried that people would withdraw the savings [in a way that would affect the fund]. But, although they took out some of the savings to meet their welfare needs, the Fund continued to grow. This shows that people have understood the importance of making savings, and the role of the Fund in helping them to get rid of [economic] problems,” he said.

A person can invest from Rwf2,000 into the Fund. Then, the small amounts are put together which makes it possible for people who have little money to benefit from the Government securities such as treasury bonds and treasury bills in which the Fund invests the money.

He explained that treasury bonds and treasury bills are risk-free as investors into it are assured of fixed interest, pointing out that collective investment (scheme) is very key to the development of the country’s economy and the people who make savings into them.

Normally, it requires at least Rwf100,000 for a person to invest in treasury bonds or treasury bills, which is not easy for some individuals to afford.

Angelique Mukeshimana, a member of the District Administration Security Support Organ (DASSO) said that saving into the Fund has proven important in contributing to solving financial problems.

She said that she saves money directly from her salary into the Fund as her account is linked to it.

"This is an important fund in terms of promoting savings as it also offers an interest of 10 per cent per year. It helps accumulate money over time, which can help one meet their financial needs,” she said.

Thomas Nzabamwita, another member of DASSO who saved into the scheme, said "the money that I got from the Fund helped me provide for my family during Covid-19 lockdown.”

"This Fund is commendable because it offers relief during the time of need. And, in fact, savings should be a culture in order to withstand the effects of unforeseeable events,” he said.

People can save into the Fund depending on their conveniences through RNIT offices, all commercial banks, Mobile Money and Airtel Money.

Under Vision 2050, Rwanda envisions becoming an upper-middle-income country by 2035, and a high-income country by 2050. This requires high domestic savings rates of more than 30 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as per information from RNIT.