Celebrating 10 years of success in the commercial real estate sector, CHIC Building shareholders are moving into banking
KIGALI – Ten years after a group of Rwandan traders pooled their resources to build one of Kigali’s most recognizable commercial complexes.
They have taken another major step in their business journey by launching CHIC Finance Plc, a microfinance institution that will offer savings and lending services.
The institution was officially launched on June 5, 2026, by shareholders of Champion Investment Company (CHIC), owners of the landmark CHIC commercial complex in downtown Kigali.
For many observers, the launch of a new financial institution is significant. But for the shareholders behind CHIC, it represents the latest chapter in a story that began more than a decade ago.
In 2015, as construction of the CHIC complex neared completion, the project’s leaders explained that the development had been born out of a common challenge faced by traders in Kigali: the shortage of modern and affordable commercial premises.
At the time, the cooperative of investors, which initially consisted of 72 members before settling at 59 shareholders, had mobilized approximately $30 million (more than Rwf20 billion at the time) to construct a modern commercial complex in Kigali’s Central Business District.
Speaking then, CHIC leaders said they wanted not only a better place to conduct business but also an opportunity to contribute to Kigali’s transformation into a modern city.
Their vision materialized in December 2016 when the CHIC complex was officially inaugurated by Paul Kagame.
During the inauguration, President Kagame praised the investors for pooling their resources and demonstrating what Rwandans can achieve through collective investment.
“Transformation is achieved through people working together,” he told shareholders, commending them for using their own resources to build a project that contributed to Rwanda’s development.
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Nearly a decade later, the same spirit of collective investment is driving the shareholders’ latest venture.
According to CHIC Finance Plc Chief Executive Officer Festus Gasigwa, the idea emerged from the shareholders’ own experience as entrepreneurs and traders who understand the challenges businesses face when seeking financial services.
“The shareholders of CHIC Finance Plc are traders and entrepreneurs. They understand how difficult it can be to access financial services and wanted to establish an institution that responds to those needs,” he said this week in interview with Kigali Today.
Gasigwa noted that while the institution will initially focus on supporting businesses and traders, particularly those operating within and around the CHIC complex, its services are open to all customers, including salaried employees and professionals.
Bitwayiki Andre, Vice Chairman, CHIC Ltd, addressing guests at the launch of their latest venture
The institution begins operations with a capital base exceeding Rwf11 billion and plans to provide savings products and loans tailored to the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises.
The launch marks an unusual but logical evolution for the investors. Having successfully mobilized resources to construct one of Kigali’s largest privately-owned commercial complexes and managed it for nearly a decade, the shareholders are now expanding into financial services.
In effect, the group has moved from solving a real estate challenge for traders to addressing a financing challenge for businesses.
The transition reflects the growing maturity of Rwanda’s private sector, where business groups are increasingly expanding beyond their original sectors and investing in new areas of the economy.
For the shareholders who once came together simply to find better business premises, the creation of CHIC Finance Plc is evidence of how far their collective investment journey has progressed—from tenants and traders, to property developers, and now to owners of a financial institution.
A cross-section of guests at the launch event
A cross-section of guest at the launch event
