I&M Bank Rwanda has introduced Ganza na I&M Business Banking campaign that aims at elevating the market for Microbusinesses, Small and Medium sized Enterprises (MSMEs). 

The 3-month campaign will see MSMEs get free financial advisory services and working loans worth up to Rwf5m for businesses without collateral and more for those with a collateral. 

The loans can also be applied for virtually through the bank’s electronic portal and accessed by a business credit card. 

Through the campaign, prizes have been earmarked for winners, who will have transacted more than the others, where the overall winner will be given Rwf5m whereas the first and second runners-up will get Rwf2.5 million each.

Besides the cash prize, the lender will offer to advertise their services on different media platforms and will meet that cost. 

Commenting on the new campaign, I&M Bank’s Chief Executive Robin Bairstow, said that Ganza comes at the right time when the businesses are recovering from devastation of Covid-19 pandemic. 

"We understand that the past few months have been hectic due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and as your financial partner, we are here to walk a mile with you on the recovery path,” he said during a press conference on Wednesday, December 1 at the bank’s new headquarters in Kigali. 

He added that this was not the first initiative that the bank has introduced to help businesses recover from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, saying that in the initial days of the outbreak, the lender salvaged over 2,000 jobs through loans and grants extended to over 150 micro, small and medium enterprises. 

"We’ve seen businesses we work with grow in portfolio, from small to medium enterprises or from medium to corporate companies, and that is what we want to achieve with this campaign,” he added. 

To come up with the solution, I&M Bank had conducted an assessment to evaluate the needs of the businesses and come up with a relevant solution. 

"We have gathered a team of experts who assessed the needs of the businesses per segment to ensure that we reach the full potential of our customers,” noted Olivier Gakuba, the Head of Business Development at the bank. 

Apart from this initiative, I&M Bank has deployed more specific solutions for MSMEs which received positive responses from the public, and as a result, the bank was able to on-board more than 200 new MSMEs businesses and disbursed Rwf14 billion in terms of loans. 

I & M Bank Rwanda PLC is the oldest commercial bank in Rwanda, and as of today, it is among the leading players in the industry with a strong footprint across the country. 

The bank has registered Rwf8.3B profit in the first nine months of 2021.