KIGALI, May 31 — Rwanda on Wednesday signed the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code to expand access to finance and support services for women-led micro, small, and medium enterprises. The announcement was made at the opening of the Financial Alliance for Women Annual Summit 2025 in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. Co-hosted by the National Bank of Rwanda (NBR) and Access to Finance Rwanda, the summit brought together policymakers, regulators, and investors to promote inclusive financial systems. The Code, already adopted by about 30 countries, is part of a global initiative that calls for high-level leadership commitment, gender-disaggregated data reporting, and targeted actions to improve financial services for women entrepreneurs. Rwanda‘s endorsement adds fresh momentum to the global drive to unlock the untapped economic potential of women-led businesses, participants said. “This Code is more than a symbolic gesture. It is a blueprint for systemic reform, a framework that brings together leadership, data, and action to transform how financial institutions serve women entrepreneurs,” Soraya Hakuziyaremye, governor of the NBR, said during the summit. In Rwanda, the Code is endorsed by the Ministry of Trade and Industry as the policymaker, the NBR as the regulator, commercial banks as financial actors, and Access to Finance Rwanda as the ecosystem coordinator. Highlighting Rwanda‘s commitment to inclusive finance, the governor said the country has achieved near-universal access to financial services over the past decade. According to the Rwanda FinScope 2024 report, 92 percent of Rwanda‘s adults own a bank account or a mobile wallet, a financial inclusion rate that places the country among the most financially included nations globally. “This is a milestone worth celebrating. But access alone is not enough. The true test lies in quality, equity, and meaningful usage,” Hakuziyaremye said. “We are proud to join 28 countries and nine global partners in this initiative. But what makes Rwanda‘s approach unique is the breadth and depth of collaboration behind it.”
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