Increasing Meaningful Financial Inclusion in Rwanda: Community-Based Savings and Credit Co-operative Societies

In 2008, only 21 per cent of Rwanda’s population had regular access to a formal financial institution, making financial exclusion a major problem in the country. Launched in 2008, the government of Rwanda started the Umurenge Saving and Credit Co-operative Societies (SACCOs) to improve financial inclusion in the country. SACCOs are community member-owned, nonprofit financial institutions. Since the implementation of SACCOs, financial inclusion in Rwanda has increased to 89 per cent in 2020. This research report investigates SACCOs and the digitization of financial inclusion in rural Rwanda.