Bank of Kigali has started a three months campaign that will have weekly rewards to 10 farmers and monthly rewards to 10 agro-dealers who have used IKOFI wallet more than others during their daily transactions such as paying for agro-inputs and other bill payments like IREMBO, RRA, WASAC, etc. IKOFI is a digital wallet aimed at helping farmers to pay for their agricultural inputs, as well as encourage a savings culture. It is accessed through a USSD short code on a mobile phone by dialling *334*2#, and it facilitates farmers to pay different agro-inputs (seeds & fertilizers). The product committed to a three-month awareness campaign in which ten farmers who have used the product more than others will be awarded on a weekly basis and get a cash prize of Rwf 50,000. Dr Diane Karusisi, Bank of Kigali’s Chief Executive Officer said that awarding farmers using electronic payments is a strategy to engage them in the cashless payment journey. “These awards will facilitate them to adopt a digital payments drive, which is one of the government’s initiative to scale up cashless economy among all sorts of merchants,” she said. IKOFI digital product aims at raising farmers access to credits. One of the winners, Christine Nyirasafari who is a maize farmer from Ngoma district, hailed Bank of Kigali’s IKOFI wallet which she said has facilitated convenience in her business’ daily activities. “Using IKOFI helps me to save time, I no longer have to stand waiting for long queues at the bank as I easily transact and pay all the agro-inputs in a short period of time using my mobile phone,” she commented. She therefore, explains how she won the award: “This week, I bought more agro-inputs than I used to buy and I processed all my payments through IKOFI which is the reason I think might have increased my chances to win,” she added. Nyirasafari vowed to become an ambassador to her fellow farmers and sensitize them to adopt the use of IKOFI wallet as their payment channel. “From now on, I am going to ask my fellow farmers to explore the opportunities in this digital product, as it provides more safety, convenience and allows us to control our spending,” she said. Dr Diane Karusisi the CEO of Bank of Kigali.
