NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

A micro-money lending platform whereby subscribers will be able to borrow up to Rwf50,000 payable in two weeks has been launched by telecom services provider, Airtel Rwanda and Atlantis Limited, a micro-finance institution.

The service is dubbed ’Igurize Amafaranga’.

Speaking at the launch of the service in Kigali, Phillip Onzoma, the head of Airtel Money, said there is an increasing need for financial institutions to partner with telecom companies to extend financial services to all Rwandans.

“While Rwanda has one of the highest banking penetration rates in the region, the mobile phone is increasingly becoming a trusted device for financial transactions, such as payments, transfers, card-less withdrawals and credit facilities,” he said.

Onzoma said the service will allow subscribers who do not have accounts with banks or microfinance institutions access credit at a 10 per cent facilitation cost.

The telecom and Atlantis, which was licensed by the National Bank of Rwanda as a microfinance institution last year, are pioneers of such a facility in the country.