Urwego Opportunity Bank has officially rebranded to “Urwego Bank Ltd” to enhance customer service delivery and efficiency, it has said. The new brand will see Rwanda’s largest microfinance improve in terms of efficiency and competitiveness, thus being able to tap into the unbanked segment of the population, said Faustin Zihiga, the bank’s chief operating officer. “Today, we are officially announcing our new brand, a decision that we believe comes with a new experience for our customers. This comes at a time we are celebrating 20 years of existence in this banking sector. We want to reach more women who are currently not financially served,” Zihiga told The New Times. He reiterated the bank’s commitment to direct more resources into projects that support women in business so as to help increase their contribution to the economy. “We believe women are the ambassadors of development, but are also a part of the community which is currently not served and yet represents a potential market,” he added. The bank currently operates 18 branches, offering agricultural loans, education financing, asset financing, and home improvement loans, among other products. On the mobile based banking technologies, Urwego Bank says it is already taking the lead on Visa Incorporated’s M-Visa M-Hose platform with over 50,000 active subscribers, outnumbering all the other financial institutions using on the product. In efforts to harness the power of mobile technology, Urwego recently signed a partnership with Tigo Rwanda to provide the first mobile phone-based bank-managed savings account, dubbed Tigo Sugira.
