Experts commend Rwanda’s financial sector progress

Abidjan - Rwanda’s financial sector is small but growing, a partnership of development partners for African countries coordinated by the African Development Bank (AfDB) dubbed “Making Finance Work for African Partnership (MFWW4A)” has said. According to MFWW4A, while financial supervision, oversight, and regulation are weak, the government has undertaken significant reforms and banks’ soundness and performance has considerably improved since 2005. “While access to financial services remains limited, ongoing reforms are rapidly improving Rwandans’ ability to participate in the financial sector: over 30 percent of households now have bank accounts,” says the MFWW4A website that was launched on Monday during the ongoing African Development Bank (AfDB) meetings. The new website was launched in a bid to support the efforts of African countries to boost economic growth and reduce poverty by promoting financial sector development. Its main functions include the coordination of donor and stakeholder activities, promoting country- and region-led financial sector development activities, advocacy, outreach, and knowledge management. Coordinated by the AfDB and supported by 12 development partners, the website will serve as a knowledge hub and repository for financial sector development in Africa, and as a platform for information exchange among practitioners. “The Partnership’s mission is to bring together African governments, development partners and the private sector to unleash the potential of the financial sector to drive economic development and reduce poverty across the continent,” MFWW4A says. According to the forum, dynamic and efficient financial sectors can play a major role in increasing private investment, creating jobs and raising incomes. The MFWW4A website also notes that less than 20 percent of African households have access to formal financial services while credit to the private sector accounts for less than 30 percent of total lending. It comprises five main components including country hub: where users can access African country profiles, with up-to-date data and statistics on the financial sector. It also has thematic hub section which provides information on all the areas of financial sector development covered by the Partnership, from access to finance and financial sector news section. The website also includes an interactive session (blogging) dubbed “Africa Finance Forum” where prominent economists, academics, and financial sector practitioners will discuss current issues in Africanfinancial sectors. The Making Finance Work for Africa Partnership was established in 2007, at the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. It provides an opportunity for policymakers, private sector innovators and technical assistance providers to identify and discuss the most pressing priorities for African financial sector development. Ends

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Experts commend Rwanda’s financial sector progress