Irish potato farmers in Northern Province, Rwanda, applying fertilizer. Next yeat, these farmers may be able to simply log onto their phones and geta much-needed loan in a single day
KIGALI — Rwanda has begun testing a digital lending platform that aims to reduce the time smallholder farmers wait for agricultural loans from as long as seven weeks to less than 48 hours, the National Bank of Rwanda said Thursday.
National Bank of Rwanda Governor Soraya Hakuziyaremye announced the initiative while presenting the central bank’s Monetary Policy and Financial Stability Statement in Kigali.
The platform is being developed by the central bank in partnership with the Rwanda Information Society Authority, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Local Government, with support from Access to Finance Rwanda.
It is designed to allow farmers to apply for agricultural loans digitally and receive the funds within a much shorter period.
A six-month pilot began last month, involving two microfinance institutions, Umutanguha Finance Plc and COPEDU Plc, and two banks, the Development Bank of Rwanda and Bank of Kigali.
Weeks-long delays
Hakuziyaremye said a survey by the central bank found that farmers currently wait about five to seven weeks to obtain an agricultural loan.
She said such delays are particularly problematic in agriculture, where access to finance is closely linked to planting and growing seasons.
The new platform is expected to reduce the period between loan application and disbursement to less than 48 hours.
If the pilot is successful, the central bank plans to roll out the platform nationwide in 2027 as part of Rwanda’s digital public infrastructure.
Hakuziyaremye said the central bank will publish the results of the pilot.
Agriculture gets a larger share of lending
The initiative comes as lending across Rwanda’s financial system continues to expand, although agriculture still accounts for a relatively small share.
Outstanding loans reached FRW 7.0 trillion ($5.2 billion) in June 2026, up 22% from FRW 5.7 trillion a year earlier.
Banks accounted for FRW 6.05 trillion of the total, while microfinance institutions held FRW 834 billion and non-deposit-taking financial institutions FRW 82 billion.
Agriculture accounted for about 5% of outstanding loans in June, up from roughly 3% a year earlier.
The sector, however, remained well behind construction, which accounted for 23% of lending, followed by trade at 17%, households at 13% and manufacturing at 11%.
Transport and storage and real estate each accounted for about 6%.
The figures show that lending to agriculture is increasing, but the sector remains a relatively small destination for credit compared with other parts of the economy.
The central bank’s digital lending initiative is intended to address one of the barriers to accessing that credit: the time it takes for farmers to obtain a loan.
Other financial-sector reforms
Hakuziyaremye also outlined other developments in the financial sector over the past six months.
Rwanda enacted a virtual assets law in May, establishing the Capital Market Authority as the licensing regulator for providers including stablecoin issuers and cryptocurrency exchanges. The National Bank of Rwanda will oversee digital assets used for payments.
In June, the central bank issued artificial intelligence risk-management guidelines for financial institutions. Hakuziyaremye said the guidelines would continue to evolve as the technology develops.
She said the overall outlook for Rwanda’s financial sector remained positive.
Foreign central banks benchmark Rwanda
The presentation was also attended by financial-sector institutions from Rwanda and delegations from central banks in Africa and Europe.
Hakuziyaremye said representatives of the central banks of Sweden, Uganda, Egypt, Kenya, Zambia, Tanzania, Somalia and South Sudan were in Rwanda for benchmarking.
The session also brought together players from Rwanda’s banking, insurance and pension industries.
The participation of the foreign central banks comes as Rwanda seeks to showcase developments in its financial sector and share its experience with other countries.
