The East African Development Bank hosted stakeholders and key partners at the Kigali Mariott Hotel for a stakeholder breakfast. The event focused on highlighting the Impact of EADB's Financing on Rwanda's Social Economic Transformation.
EADB has disbursed cumulatively USD 33M (Rwf 48B) to four partner institutions in Rwanda, Development Bank of Rwanda (BRD), Duterimbere IMF Plc, AB Rwanda Plc, and Letshego Rwanda since the launch of our 2024 SME Program. The funding has supported SME's in sectors such as Agriculture, Manufacturing, Commerce, Housing and Transport. This has led to the creation of over 7,000 jobs, with over 3,000 casual jobs. 40% of the jobs have gone to women.
Speaking at the event, Rwanda’s Head of Financial Sector Development, Mr. Herbert Asiimwe from the Ministry of Financeead of Financial Sector Development, Mr. Herbert Asiimwe from the Ministry of Finance noted that EADB has been a steadfast development partner to Rwanda for the past few years.
"EADB’s investments have made a direct contribution to Rwanda’s priority Sustainable Development Goals, by supporting income-generating activities & creating outcomes that are fully aligned with Rwanda’s Vision 2050, which is inclusive, sustainable and highly sector-led growth. The government values partners that promote a deeper sustainable impact and EADB has demonstrated this through measurable results on the ground.” Mr Herbert Asiimwe shared.
In his remarks, EADB Ag. Director General, Mr Benard Mono shared, “As the region’s development bank, jointly owned by our member states, we are proud to be long-term partners of each of our members states and aligning our financing with the national priorities. Our role as EADB in Rwanda and the region, is not to simply provide capital, but also a network transformation, to turn finance into productivity, resilience and opportunity. As we get into the next few years, EADB will adopt a collaborative approach with partner financial institutions, this will enable us to reach entrepreneurs that a development bank like ours would otherwise not reach. It is through this approach that we have been able to finance SME’s and strengthen the economic growth of the region.” noted Mr. Mono.
He added that, guided by Rwanda’s Vision 2050, EADB’s role will be finance what Rwanda must become tomorrow, an inclusive, resilient, and prosperous nation for generations to come. “Together, we are not just financing projects, we are building Rwanda’s future and changing lives one at a time.” he concluded.
During the event, we heard from one of the sub-borrowers that has benefited from EADB’s SME program through our partner Duterimbere IMF Plc. Margaritha Uwantege, started with a piggy bank of Rwf 2,000 which was used to start a poultry business, but has now been able to expand her farming business to rear goats and cattle. The mother of 8 went on to add, “I was not educated, but now have many graduates in the family with children working in the USA, Saudi Arabia, and Canada. This is because of what I was able to achieve with the loan I received.” Margarita went on to urge women to be fearless as they pursue their dreams.
From Gorilla Textiles, Mr Didier Karenzi shared how the textile company has been able to grow with the support of funding from Development Bank of Rwanda (BRD), one of our partner financial institutions under the EADB SME Program.
“Gorilla Textiles, started in August 2024 but has been able to grow to 13 locations across Rwanda and employ 1,300 workers. We currently sell our products across East Africa, outside and will soon be targeting bigger markets such as Europe, Israel and Japan. We plan to expand our facility, to be able to produce raw materials, so that we will be not importing anything from outside of Rwanda and we know we will achieve this through the continued partnership.”
