BRD commits to supporting MFI’s

MUHANGA - Rwanda Development Bank (BRD) has made a commitment to support Microfinance Institutions (MFI’s) in areas of access to finance and capacity building. Benjamin Manzi, a BRD official, made the remarks on Friday during the training of bank managers in market research which was held in Muhanga. The training was conducted by Business Development Fund (BDF) a project that deals with microfinance institutions and aimed at helping bankers develop marketing skills and research. “The objective of such training is to polish the activities of microfinance institutions so they can provide bigger business opportunities to their clients” Manzi said. “We are ready to finance banks which will come up with good business projects, that will propel community development such as the energy sector and tourism. The trainees, who comprise of bank managers from various institutions, received various skills in market research, which will solve some of the difficulties faced by MFI’s in Rwanda. Rose Uwingabire, a banker with Goshen Finance in Ruhango, said the training increased their marketing skills. “It’s funny but true, that some of us have been running marketing departments without any marketing skills. These skills will enable us to sell more products and increase the clientele”. John Kagarama, a BDF official, said similar trainings will be conducted with more banks and the activities of BDF will be disseminated to various communities so that more community development projects can be financed and implemented through use of community banks.