Bank of Kigali taps internal talent for fintech innovations at first hackathon

The Bank of Kigali is looking inward for its next wave of innovations, turning to its employees to create new tech solutions during the inaugural BK Hackathon 2025. The final competition took place on Friday, June 20, at the Kigali Convention Centre. Teams of four to six participants presented their projects to a panel of judges, demonstrating how their ideas could benefit both customers and the broader Rwandan fintech sector. ALSO READ: BK Foundation, GIZ Equip 138 Entrepreneurs with skills and capital for circular economy ventures The hackathon, which began in December 2024, initially attracted more than 300 participants. Seventy projects advanced to preliminary rounds, with only 10 making it to the final stage. The winning project, Inkindi, developed by the team Nawe Byakubera, addresses the bookkeeping challenges faced by Rwanda's small and medium-sized businesses. Many entrepreneurs still rely on handwritten ledgers to track transactions. Inkindi offers a digital solution that allows business owners to store financial information on their phones through voice or text input, converting that data into growth charts that can support financial decision-making. The tool also has the potential to help users manage taxation. The first-place team was awarded Rwf20 million. ALSO READ: How Bank of Kigali is strengthening Rwanda’s agricultural value chains The second-place project, BK 360, earned Rwf15 million. This AI-powered solution uses customer data to offer personalised financial services. For example, if the system detects that a customer’s income now qualifies them for a credit card, it will proactively recommend and assist in securing the product. The AI can also track life events, such as upcoming school enrollment dates, and suggest student loan options when relevant. The goal is to create a full-circle, data-driven approach to customer engagement. The third-place award went to Kira, which received Rwf10 million. This AI banking assistant is designed to simplify everyday transactions by allowing users to automate payments for recurring expenses like utilities, subscriptions, and other bills, minimising the need for manual processing. Djasmine Busoro Isimbi, a member of the winning team, said their solution aims to eliminate the daily struggles small business owners face in tracking their finances. Many people lose their ledgers or forget where they wrote down their prices, she said. With Inkindi, they can simply use their phones or voices to record what they bought and sold. They will be able to track earnings daily, monthly, or yearly without having to piece it together from paper records. She added that the project has the potential to empower entrepreneurs across Rwanda. We want to bring this to all Rwandans, so they no longer worry about lost records or trusting others to handle their books. BK will not only store their money but also provide tools to help them grow. Abdul Niyigena, part of the second-place BK 360 team, said their AI platform will help the bank serve customers more effectively by using data-driven insights instead of outdated manual records. The system learns who you are based on your income, spending habits, and business activities, he said. It will allow us to offer the right services at the right time, whether that’s loans for startups or other tailored financial products. In addition to the top three winners, each of the 10 finalist teams received Rwf5 million. BK CEO Diane Karusisi said the hackathon was designed to spark innovations that will help the bank grow, improve customer service, and attract new members, all driven by the creativity of BK’s young employees. We want to continue expanding our membership by offering solutions that directly respond to our customers' needs, Karusisi said. Take, for example, the winning project that helps small business owners store and track their financial information digitally. By having access to this data, the bank can provide timely customised services that support their growth and strengthen their relationship with us. She added that the competition is valuable not only for generating ideas but for testing them against real-world challenges. The hackathon demands both critical thinking and practical design. It pushes our teams to create solutions that are not just creative but viable and ready to serve our customers. Although 2025 marks the first edition of the BK Hackathon, the bank plans to make it an annual event to foster ongoing creativity and develop customer-centred innovations that help the institution grow alongside its clients.

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Bank of Kigali taps internal talent for fintech innovations at first hackathon