CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

This case study is a product of AFI’s Gender Inclusive Finance workstream and is part of a series of seven case studies in partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB) Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) Project.

Contributors:

We would like to thank the following interviewees for their time, information, and guidance to elaborate this case study:

From the National Bank of Rwanda: Moise Bigirimana (Manager, Financial Inclusion and Education), and Rita Kayibanda (Senior Analyst, Financial Inclusion and Education).

From the AFI Management Unit: Helen Walbey (Head, Gender Inclusive Finance), Beryl Tan (Senior Program Analyst, Gender Inclusive Finance), and Audrey Hove (Policy Specialist, Gender Inclusive Finance).

We would like to thank the external stakeholders who participated in interviews and provided extensive feedback: Herbert Asiimwe (Head of Banking Sector, Financial Sector Department, Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning [MINECOFIN]), Winnie Kamashazi (Banking and Payment Systems Expert, Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning [MINECOFIN]), Stella Muhoza (Pensions, and Insurance Expert, Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning [MINECOFIN]), Sarah Mukantaganda (Women Access to Finance Officer, Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion [MIGEPROF]), Aaron Turamye (Human Resources Manager, ASA Microfinance), Golam Mostofa (Operation Manager, ASA Microfinance), Marie Claire Umugwaneza (Social Performance Manager, BRAC Rwanda), Ida Ingabire (Secretariat for Rwanda, New Faces New Voices Rwanda).

We appreciate PHB Development’s contributions to the report, along with key stakeholders in Rwanda that participated in this study.

We would also like to thank AFI member institutions, partners, and donors for generously contributing to the development of this publication.

The Gender Inclusive Finance workstream is partially financed by Sweden and other partners.

© 2023 (March), Alliance for Financial Inclusion. All rights reserved.