I&M Bank Rwanda on Wednesday, March 29, held an appreciation event for its customers in the tourism and hospitality sector, who benefited from the Mastercard Foundation’s Hanga Ahazaza initiative.

The event, held in Kigali, was a celebration of the collaboration between the Bank and Mastercard Foundation, which saw 120 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) funded.

More than Rwf9 billion of loans were given to the MSMEs.

As part of the collaboration with Hanga Ahazaza by the Mastercard Foundation and our partners at Investing for Employment (IFE), I&M Bank provided MSMEs with grants to sustain production and employment, Robin Bairstow, the Managing Director of I&M Bank Rwanda, said.

"Under this financing arrangement, the Bank has helped to retain 4300 jobs employed by 363 MSMEs. Coming to the aid of customers, whose cash flows were disrupted due to COVID-19 and its related impacts, the Bank offered loan deferments, reduced interest rates on loans, and removed charges on digital transactions across all our channels to ease the payment mechanism for our customers.

"Our digital channels have played a significant role in our growth, with 78% of all customer-initiated transactions now processed digitally. We owe this achievement to the unwavering support of our valuable customers,” Bairstow said.

Five years ago, I&M launched the Tourism and Hospitality segment in its Business Banking unit, enabling it to create tailored financial solutions that support the growth of businesses.

Going forward, Bairstow said, I&M Bank has "a vision of becoming the financial partner of choice for businesses in the tourism and hospitality sector and beyond. We are committed to expanding our services to other sectors and exploring new partnerships to support the growth of our economy.”

Through the Hanga Ahazaza initiative, tourism and hospitality operators were trained in bookkeeping, investment readiness, corporate governance, online presence and savings habits, among others.

Out of the 120 MSMEs that were financed, 30 per cent were women-owned.

Tourism and hospitality industry is one of the growing sectors of the Rwandan economy, and was projected to attract $350 million in revenues.

The Lead Tourism and Hospitality Management at MasterCard Foundation Rwanda, Dr Carmen Nibigira, said the tourism and hospitality operators have to aim higher to make the revenues increase.

"For tourism to continue on this trajectory, we need to move from a three to four-day stay in Rwanda to nine to 10 days. We need to move from the average $3490 per stay to double that number,” she said.

"But that means that we have to diversify the products and have an impetus that makes people stay longer and spend more.”

Nibigira said the Mastercard Foundation plans to concentrate efforts in the arts and creative industry, and sports, religious and adventure tourism, calling on the investors and tourism operators to join the foundation in the journey.

"Through Hanga Ahazaza, we focused on providing skills, growing the capacity of tourism operators and getting the trust of partners to believe that this sector can create jobs,” she said.

Nibigira commended I&M Bank’s collaboration with the Mastercard Foundation, and encouraged its management to position themselves as the trusted partner for the businesses in the tourism and hospitality sector.