A new Centre of Excellence belonging to BPR Bank Rwanda Plc is designed to enhance staff skills, support customers, especially women and youth, improve their experience and modernise banking operations, according to the bank.

The multi-functional hub, located in Muhima, Kigali, was launched on February 20. It brings together a training academy, an IT and innovation hub, and an upgraded contact centre under one roof, reflecting the bank’s strategy to position itself as a learning-driven, technology-enabled and customer-focused institution.

The bank leaders say the facility will not only boost internal capacity but also support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and improve service delivery nationwide.

As one of Rwanda’s commercial banks with a nationwide footprint, BPR said the initiative is part of its broader strategy to promote continuous learning, financial inclusion and technology-driven banking.

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Patience Mutesi, the bank’s Managing Director explained that the Centre of Excellence is structured around three core components: training and development, innovation and technology, and customer engagement.

"We are launching our BPR Centre of Excellence, which has three key aspects,” she said. "First is our training centre, the BPR Academy, where we will embed skills and a spirit of learning and development for all our staff in the years ahead.”

The academy, she stated, will also be open to small businesses seeking to strengthen their capacity.

"We will be providing business development services to SMEs, both those we serve and those we do not serve, to help them enhance their skills,” she added.

On the innovation component, she stressed the need for the bank to adapt to a changing financial landscape.

"Banking is not static; banking is ever-changing, this space will give us an opportunity to engage our innovation and technology teams, especially as themes like artificial intelligence continue to shape the industry,” she noted.

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Speaking about the contact centre, Mutesi observed that the upgrade is aimed at improving accessibility noting that the centre is not intended to generate profit but to build capacity and advance financial inclusion.

"For us to truly serve our customers well, we need to be accessible across different touchpoints. The enhanced contact centre will help us get closer to our customers and serve them better. Our intention is not to make money from this facility, but to see how we can improve financial management and financial inclusion across the country,” she remarked.

Services and Institutional growth

The Chairman of the Board of directors at BPR Rwanda Plc, George Rubagumya, stated that the Centre of Excellence should help position the bank as a "people’s bank” by investing in its workforce and strengthening service delivery.

"We want to be the people’s bank — the bank people think about when they want banking services,” he said. "And we can only care for our customers by first equipping ourselves.”

He also noted that the facility should not operate in isolation but collaborate with universities and industry experts to strengthen professional development.

"Let us not sit here and share only what we already know, we should invite lecturers, researchers and experienced professionals to share knowledge and challenge us,” he added.

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Rubagumya also underscored the need for stronger systems, especially in customer care and internal operations, adding that the long term goal is to replicate similar centres in other provinces to increase access and support communities beyond Kigali.

He underscored the need for having a reliable system to monitor customer complaints, track response times, and assess how issues are resolved, pointing out that only by demonstrating effective follow-up and resolution can the institution confidently say it is genuinely serving its customers.

"Let’s not just be lenders of money. Let’s be bankers who understand our clients and walk the journey with them,” he reiterated.

Customer experience lead on expected impact

Alphonsine Uwera, the Senior Manager in charge of Customer Experience at BPR Rwanda Plc, said the centre will directly improve how customers interact with the bank, explaining that the facility creates a structured way of turning feedback into action.

"The Centre of Excellence strengthens our capability, technology and service standards to ensure every customer interaction is faster, more consistent and more personalised, and It enables us to systematically turn customer feedback into concrete improvements across the bank,” she said.

According to Uwera, customers should expect noticeable improvements.

"They will experience quicker response times, more knowledgeable support, improved digital and contact centre services, and faster resolution of issues, most importantly, they will feel heard because their feedback will directly shape how we improve our services,” she affirmed.