Plugging Rwanda’s financial exclusion gaps
Key questions:
- Despite Rwanda’s financial inclusion achievements, pockets of exclusion still exist. What financial needs can fintechs innovate for Rwandan consumers?
- What demographic groups have traditionally been financially excluded in Rwanda, and how can Fintechs build solutions around them?
Rwanda is vying to become the next hot fintech destination.
The East African country recently rolled out its Fintech Strategy Roadmap 2022-2027 to show it means business. It has set up regulatory sandboxes for fintechs to test their ideas before launching across Africa.
This fintech fever extends all the way to the top. In the recently concluded Inclusive Fintech Forum held in Kigali in June 2023, Rwanda’s president, Paul Kagame, graced the stage, welcoming investors, founders, funds, and NGOs to the land of a thousand hills.
Fintechs are dancing to the government’s tune. Flutterwave and Chipper Cash have snatched up new licenses and set up shop in Rwanda in 2023.
Historically, Rwanda has been ignored by venture capital pockets, which has propped up fintechs in other larger markets like Kenya and Uganda. Rwanda claimed just 0.13% of VC funding into East Africa’s fintech ecosystem in 2022, a paltry $300,000 out
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