Rwanda is already recognized in the international community as a shining example of what can be accomplished when a nation comes together to begin healing past wounds. Now full of hope and possibilities, the importance of financial inclusion to the country’s continued renaissance was emphasized by high-level leaders and policymakers during the Financial Inclusion for Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development international conference hosted Friday in Kigali by AFI member institution, National Bank of Rwanda (NBR).

This significant meeting was organized in partnership with the World Bank, the African Development Bank (ADB) and AFI to commemorate NBR’s 50th anniversary. It convened numerous central bank governors and leading financial sector regulators, key policymakers, global leaders from the payments industry, mobile financial services (MFS) providers, top-level bankers, donors and experts, all of whom shared successful experiences, new breakthroughs and lessons learned in the field of financial inclusion.

President of Rwanda Paul Kagame complemented NBR in his opening speech, stating the bank has mimicked Rwanda’s resilience: “Our government inherited a devastated economy and empty coffers. The bank has mirrored the resilience of Rwanda and its people by safeguarding Rwanda’s economy for the last 20 years and remaining on path of equitable growth and development…we are optimistic about our future. With the right mindset the problems we face are opportunities to speed up development towards a better future.”

NBR Governor John Rwangombwa stressed the importance of President Kagame’s support in helping the bank achieve its financial inclusion goals. “Financial inclusion is key for equitable progress. We use this moment to reflect on our achievements in the last 50 years, and to learn from partners to expedite financial inclusion in our country. Our objective is to transform NBR into a world class central bank.”

The Governor also highlighted that Rwanda possesses one of the highest levels of financial inclusion in East Africa, outlining:

• Financial inclusion in the nation doubled from 21 percent to 42 percent and reduced total exclusion from 52 percent to 28 percent in 2012;
• Seventy-two percent of adults in Rwanda use financial services from both the formal and informal sectors;
• NBR now plans to increase formal financial inclusion access to reach 90 percent of its adult population by 2020, an expansion on its original target of 80 percent by 2017 announced under the bank’s Maya Declaration Commitment made during the 2011 Global Policy Forum (GPF) in Mexico.

“I believe financial inclusion is a strong recipe for eradicating poverty and accelerating sustainable development,” said Badré Bertrand, Managing Director and World Bank Group Chief Finance Officer. “Rwanda is the first nation in sub-Saharan Africa to benefit from the financial inclusion framework and I am confident of the prospects. There is need for innovation and thinking outside the box. Financial inclusion and financial stability cannot be exclusive.”

The meeting also elevated an awareness that most financial innovations come from developing countries at the national level, and are scaled up at the regional level. The African continent was held up as an example as a global frontrunner in digital financial service innovations—to advance high-level leadership in the region for the development of digital financial services AFI members in the region created the African Mobile Phone Financial Services Initiative (AMPI). This includes the coordination of peer-learning efforts in Africa, which in turn broadens knowledge and promotes mobile and digital financial services policy development throughout the entire AFI Network.

Dr. Alfred Hannig, Executive Director at AFI, stated the developing world desires to be represented in the world governance and global leadership, and that knowledge sharing and peer learning have replaced technical assistance. “In our world everyone is the same and the knowledge is what counts. These trends are driven by the AFI membership, and reinforced by their Maya Declaration commitments as well as the AFI Network’s transition to be an independent organization.”

Bank of Tanzania (BOT) Governor Benno Ndulu, along with representatives from Equity Bank, Visa International and Tigo Rwanda, participated in the Innovation, Technology and Financial Inclusion session that focused on technology and digital financial services as the main enabler to financial inclusion. Governor Ndulu used his country as an example of where technology halved financial exclusion in only a few years. The panel also highlighted the fact that Rwanda and Tanzania were the first countries in Africa to support mobile-money enabled cross-border remittances, and both countries are also moving forward to promote interoperability among different mobile money players, banks and payment operators, notably Visa.

“Rwanda could be the next Silicon Savannah—there is no question about it,” said Dr. Hannig.