Manzi Finance, a new microfinance institution, was on July 14, launched in Rwanda to provide low-cost and easily accessible loans to Rwandan residents, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to spur their growth. The new microfinance institution was founded by Aloys Manzi, a Rwandan who lives in the UK. It got licenced by the National Bank of Rwanda – the financial sector regulator – in March 2023. It started as a non-deposit taking lending financial institution, meaning that it provides loans but does not accept deposits from the public. According to information from the institution, by 2024, Manzi Finance expects to have empowered more than 3,000 Rwandan entrepreneurs to access low-cost finance. Its financial services target manufacturing companies, agriculture and agro-processing companies, service companies, and trade companies. Its products are personal loans, retail business loans, working capital, plot loans, car loans, consumer loans, agriculture loans, assets financing, overdrafts, investment loans, and salary advances. It will grant personal and business loans charged at a 22 per cent interest rate per year, which is lower than the rates charged by non-deposit taking lending financial institutions in the same tier – as they range from 25 per cent to 36 per cent annually. House acquisition loans, and salary advance loans will be charged at even lower interest rates – 15 per cent and 16 per cent respectively. Manzi, the founder and owner of Manzi Finance, said it was realised that currently, banks give priority to big businesses that need large loans, which limits SMEs’ access to funding. He pointed out that the microfinance institution wants to ease access to finance for SMEs. “So, we are coming in to help them so that they are able to make progress since when they have developed, they will create a lot of jobs. As we have many young people who are unemployed, once those businesses have grown and created jobs the country will also benefit. This is the support we can offer to our country so that it continues achieving development,” he said. He is, so far, the sole shareholder of the financial institution, but there are investors from Rwanda and other countries including Singapore have expressed interest in buying shares. During the launch, five SMEs acquired loans of Rwf5 million, each, - amounting to Rwf25 million in total. Juvénal Ndayisenga, the Managing Director and owner of Bio-hap, an agro-processing SME, is one of the recipients of the inaugural loans from Manzi Finance. Bio-hap is based in Kagarama sector, Kicukiro district. He said the company has machinery with the capacity to process about 1,000 kilogrammes of products including juice, wine and honey, but it works at about 10 per cent capacity because of limited resources. “This funding from Manzi Finance is a relief to entrepreneurs who need medium-sized working capital to expand their business. It is going to help me increase production, number of employees as well as the quantity and quality of our products and sales, hence growing my business,” he said. He added that Manzi Finance’s commitment to provide technical and advisory service to people it has lent money, so that they are able to use it profitably, is commendable. Stark Aseck Ojong, a financial analyst who doubles as CEO and Founder of SAO Group, a global investment firm specialised in mutual funds but with core in multi-asset management, said that there are a lot of startups in the country that are not able to access a mainstream loan. “Manzi Finance is coming to close that gap. There will be a lot of startups who can access this loan from Manzi Finance and at a very cheap rate. This is very useful for the country and also for investors that are here,” he said, adding that “for you to develop the country, loans should be accessible to all.”
