A new gender financial inclusion report by Access to Finance Rwanda reveals that financial inclusion in Rwanda stands at 96 percent for women and 97 percent for men.

However, experts have observed that financial inclusion and the actual usage of financial services does not match, stressing the need to bridge the gap.

According to the latest report, dubbed Finscope 2024 Gender and Financial Inclusion Thematic Report, which was launched on March 7, there has been a decline in bank savings for both genders since 2020.

ALSO READ: Formal financial inclusion in Rwanda grew 39% in 2020-2024

The report reveals that bank savings stood at 19 per cent for women and 25 per cent for men in 2020, but have now dropped to 14 per cent and 22 per cent, respectively.

Valence Kimenyi, Director of Financial Sector Development and Inclusion at the National Bank of Rwanda (BNR), observed that the financial system is made up of four parties – financial institutions, customers, regulators, and the government.

He emphasised that there was a need for collaboration among these parties to increase the usage of financial services and products.

"These four people have their own incentives. Sometimes these incentives are not mutually exclusive. From a people perspective or business perspective, they&039;re not interested in banks making profits,” he said during a panel discussion.

"Actually, that's why sometimes when our banks declare profits in newspapers, the first thing that people say is ‘they're milking us and why do we allow them to milk us?’” he added.

Kimenyi observed that for meaningful and sustainable usage of financial services to happen, there should be an optimal equilibrium.

Rise of informal saving

The report highlights that credit services are more commonly accessed through informal sources than banks. Only 43 per cent of men and 39 per cent of women save through non-bank accounts.

The use of credit from informal sources stands at 30 per cent for men and 39 per cent for women, whereas credit from banks is at 13 per cent for men and just 8 per cent for women.

Credit from informal sources usage among women is higher in rural areas (43 per cent) compared to urban areas (29 per cent), while banks are at 14 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively.

Kimenyi partly attributed this to higher access to credit.

"We are moving closer to inclusion. The government is now concerned about having sustainable finance for the private sector to create jobs and drive economic development,” he said.

He further highlighted the need for banks and financial institutions to better understand businesses and consumer segments, particularly "why do people go to informal sector?”

Hannington Namara, Managing Director at Equity Bank Rwanda, echoed the importance of collaboration to ensure that financial access and usage grow together.

"The financial system actors have to come together and deal with those constraints,” he noted, adding that currently users prefer accessing through their mobile gadgets, and that financial services providers should align with their needs.

In terms of transactional financial accounts, mobile money has the most accounts registered with 81per cent and 72 per cent in 2024, from 66 per cent and 55 per cent in 2020 of males and females,respectively.

"Maybe this is the time to come together as actors and bring about cooperation and interoperability between mobile services and the financial institutions, banks included, so that we begin to learn from that data,” Namara said.

Women financial inclusion

Nadine Umutoni Gatsinzi, Chief Gender Monitor at the Gender Monitoring Office (GMO), pointed out that while women have access to financial services, significant barriers remain in their ability to use them effectively.

"One major challenge is collateral security, as many women co-own properties with their husbands but hesitate to use them as loan guarantees, despite laws allowing joint ownership,” she explained.

"When we talk about family dynamics, we may see that women are not fully enjoying the property as men are,” she added. "Sometimes men refuse their wives to use their land as collateral yet this is one of the requirements for the banks to get loans.”

Gatsinzi emphasised the ongoing need to build trust in women's leadership and financial literacy, pointing out that deep-rooted gender stereotypes and societal norms continue to shape perceptions, even within the banking sector.

"These biases persist in financial institutions,” she noted. "Women are often viewed as risky borrowers, which results in fewer loans being granted to them and a higher rate of loan rejections.”