The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MINICOM) and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Friday signed a mutual agreement that will see the two countries work closely to strengthen financial inclusion.
The agreement, which was signed in a virtual ceremony, will see the trade ministry involved in the implementation of the international and open platform project, dubbed Business sans Borders (BSB).
This according to a statement, will strengthen greater cooperation in FinTech innovation, trade and business development between Rwanda and Singapore.
MAS is Singapore’s central bank, integrated financial regulator and a global leader in supporting FinTech ecosystems and development.
FinTech refers to the enhancement or automation of financial services and processes through the use of technology.
This platform is expected to enable additional development of the e-commerce and Small and Medium Sized Enterprise (SME) sector in Rwanda and increase cross-border supply of goods from Rwanda.
It will also help to put in place an intelligent referral mechanism to help FinTech firms access each other’s markets.
MINICOM and MAS have also committed to exchange views on emerging market trends and developments in FinTech, as well as regulatory issues on financial services innovation.
According to Ernst & Young (EY)’s Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019, as FinTech becomes the norm, you need to stand out from the crowd.
The survey indicated that 25 percent of SMEs had adopted FinTech globally, and that the adoption of FinTech services has moved steadily upward, from 16 percent in 2015, to 33 percent in 2017, to 64 percent in 2019.
Awareness of FinTech, even among non-adopters, is now very high. Worldwide, for example, 96 percent of consumers know of at least one alternative FinTech service available to help them transfer money and make payments, the survey showed.
The cooperation will also stimulate wider public-private partnerships towards joint innovation projects between Rwanda and Singapore.
It is hoped that by operationalizing this project, Rwanda’s exports to the region will increase and local businesses gain cross-border, e-commerce experience.
Michel Minega Sebera, the Permanent Secretary, MINICOM said, the cooperation "highlights the strengthening FinTech partnership between Rwanda and Singapore, and lays the foundation for us to harness FinTech for a smarter, more efficient and more inclusive financial sector in our respective countries.”
"Our bilateral collaboration in FinTech will help promote financial innovation and create new opportunities for our countries, as well as in our regions,” he said.
Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer of MAS said, the Business sans Borders project is to be the global Artificial Intelligence-powered infrastructure that simplifies single point access to new buyers, new suppliers, faster financing and seamless trade services for business ecosystems in Singapore, Rwanda and beyond.
Business sans Borders project is now operationalised by Proxtera Proxtera, its commercialisation (entity).
"This deep cooperation between MAS and MINICOM is a testament to the close and strong bond of our countries to accelerate the connectivity and digitalisation for our SMEs, FinTechs and economies to thrive in these new world dynamics,” Mohanty observed