Barely six months since AB Bank Rwanda opened shop in Rwanda, the micro-finance bank has already handed out Rwf1b in credit. “We have seen strong demand from clients, mostly micro and small business owners,” said Christophe Kneiding, the AB Bank managing director. The bank has flexible terms as regards the collateral requirements and one is able to access funds within four days of submitting their loan application. “This is how we have managed to record 1,300 loan and about 4,000 deposit clients,” he said. The bank has two branches Nyamirambo and Nyarugenge sectors in Kigali. Kneiding said they have established a loan department for small-and-medium enterprises for loans of more than Rwf10m. In 2015, AB Bank plans to establish its first branch outside of Kigali. AB Bank is a subsidiary of Berlin based Access Holding Network which currently comprises of eight commercial microfinance banks in developing and transition economies in Africa, Caucasus and central Asia. Their target clientele are low and middle income households and micro and small businesses.
