Access to Finance Rwanda and the Sustainable Development Goals Center for Africa to collaborate on strengthening financial inclusion and financial sector development in Rwanda

Kigali, 23 April 2021: Today, Access to Finance Rwanda (AFR) and The Sustainable Development Goals Center for Africa (The SGDC/A) agreed to collaborate through signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The signing ceremony was held at The SDGC/A Office. This partnership will facilitate a long-term collaboration between the two institutions based on their complementary interest and capacities. This reflects both parties’ willingness to work together on key matters related to promoting financial inclusion and financial sector development, which is vital to the achievement of Rwanda’s National Strategy for Transformation (NST1), Vision 2050 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This MoU which was signed by the AFR Country Director, Mr. Jean Bosco Iyacu and Ms. Caroline Makasa, Acting Director General of The SDGC/A; it is a formal agreement of mutual commitment and partnership between the two institutions towards strengthening financial Inclusion and financial sector development in Rwanda. This new partnership will strengthen the development, adaptation, and delivery of the best practices, knowledge, technologies, and policies to contribute to the acceleration of financial inclusion and inclusive economic growth, which is a critical enabler for the attainment of the SDGs in Rwanda.

“We believe a robust and inclusive financial sector plays a very important role in facilitating the achievement of the SDGs and institutional collaboration as highlighted in SDG 17 on Partnerships for the goals is of paramount importance” said AFR country Director, Jean Bosco Iyacu. He also added that this collaboration with The SDGC/A is timely as AFR enters a new five years’ strategy aiming to facilitate a diverse and inclusive financial sector that delivers real value to the economy and people, in particular unserved and underserved populations.

“Financial inclusion has been embedded in many of the SDGs, which underscore its critical importance that creates conditions for SDGs to be within reach. Given the increasing empirical evidence on the role of financial inclusion in the achievement of SDGs, it should get more priority than before. In this regard, the collaboration between AFR and The SDGC/A is a timely one that will contribute a lot in moving towards full and equal access to formal financial services for all in Rwanda” said Caroline Makasa, Acting Director General of The SDGC/A.

Press Enquiries

Nadège Nzeyimana
AFR Communications Consultant
Telephone 0788 455 701
E-mail nadege@localhost
Website www.afr.rw

Tricia Gatera
The SDGC/A ES & Communications
Telephone 0788 122 300
E-mail tgatera@sdgcafrica.org
Website www.sdgcafrica.org