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

Friday, July 18, 2014

Rwandans have hailed the role of micro-finance institutions just as Kigali is hosting a global financial inclusion summit starting today.

The summit, code-named “Financial Inclusion for Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development”, brings together financial sector regulators, policy makers, and eminent researchers across the globe to discuss the achievements and challenges of global financial inclusion, according to the central bank.

The event, organised by National Bank of Rwanda in partnership with Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), African Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank is part of the central bank’s golden anniversary activities.

For many years, Viateur Mutoni had been thriving on a meagre income earned from tilling a small plot of land in his home village in the rural Shaba Cell, Kitabi Sector, Nyamagabe District.

The output from farming was not even enough to feed his family let alone selling some to uplift his family’s living conditions.

But, about three years ago, the father of two took a drastic decision to change the course of his life and that of his family.

Aware indeed that he lacked enough funds to stand on his own, Mutoni joined a local savings and credit cooperative. He would later secure Rwf300, 000 in loan which he used to start poultry on a small-scale.