Bank of Kigali headquarters in Rwanda. FILE PHOTO | NMG
Bank of Kigali (BK Group) has disbursed $96 million to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in 10 months through centres dedicated to lending to small
businesses.The lender, which is listed on both the Nairobi and Rwanda stock markets, says the money was tapped by fast-growing businesses, pointing to the demand of the SME centres that were started in July last year.
“We know that SMEs form a big part of the country’s economy and employ many Rwandans, that is why we came up with this special centre to tackle that financing gap,” said Diane Karusisi, the chief executive officer.
The bank said most of the borrowers through the SME centres are on track with repayments, with 60 percent of them being repeat customers, either topping up existing loans or seeking fresh funding.
Read: Bank of Kigali profit up 33pc on income rise
According to the lender, a quarter of the borrowers are traders and average a loan size of about $103,000 (Ksh14.4 million). The bank has more than 16,000 SME clients.
The BK SME centres offer a range of products tailored for SMEs, including non-financial services such as financial advisory and training on tax declaration.
BK Group net profit for the first quarter ended March 2023 rose by a 14.5 percent to Rwf17.88 billion ($16 million), driven by increased interest and transactions income.
The bank reported the rise in earnings from Rwf15.6 billion ($13.95 million) on the back of a 1.4 percent growth in the loan book to Rwf1.12 trillion ($1 billion).
BK Group’s net interest income increased to Rwf36.17 billion ($32.35 million) from Rwf33.3 billion ($29.79 million) on increased lending.
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