The project is a result of a joint strategy between the Ministry of Emergency Management (MINEMA) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to support the economic inclusion of refugees in Rwanda. The strategy objective is to ensure that all refugees will be able to fulfill their productive potential as self-reliant members of Rwandan society by the year 2020. This would contribute to economic development of their host districts.
Therefore, Access to Finance Rwanda (AFR) in partnership with FSD Africa, UNHCR and MINEMA are supporting the development of market-based innovative solutions to address the financial needs of Forcibly Displaced People (FDP) and their host communities. The intervention started with a reseach conducted by Bankable Frontier Associates (BFA) in July 2017 to provide market intelligence that would build a sound business case for the Financail Service Providers (FSPs) to profitably serve refugees.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE RESEARCH
The study was followed by an innovation competition among different players in the financial sector and the best four proposals/institutions were selected. These include; Umutanguha Finance Company, MTN Rwanda, Equity Bank, and MFS Africa. AFR is supporting Umutanguha Finance Company and MTN Rwanda, and FSD Africa is supporting Equity Bank and MFS Africa.
| Project name | Provision of financial services to refugees and their host communities |
| Implementing partners | Umutanguha Finance Company, Frankfurt School of Finance, MTN Rwanda |
| Project period | > 2 years (October 2018 to November 2020) |
| Download the Full Project Brief | |
