BPR Rwanda (IFC-48695)

Countries
  • Rwanda
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
B
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Jun 28, 2024
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
BPR Bank Rwanda Plc
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Finance
  • Industry and Trade
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 40.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 60.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ IFC website

Updated in EWS Mar 17, 2025

Disclosed by Bank Nov 22, 2024

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the proposed project consists of a senior unsecured loan of up to US$60 million equivalent in RWF to BPR Bank Rwanda PLC (“BPR”) to support the Bank’s lending program to small and medium enterprises (“SMEs”) including women-owned or women-managed SMEs (“WSMEs”) in Rwanda (“the Project”). The Project is expected to be supported by IDA20 Private Sector Window Local Currency Facility (“IDA20 PSW LCF”).                                                   

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

The Project entails a senior loan to BPR to support eligible SMEs. The SME sectors supported by the Bank include agriculture, trade, and mining & quarrying. The E&S risks and impacts associated with the supported SME activities are considered limited and readily addressed through mitigation measures. The overall portfolio risk is considered medium. Thus, the Project has been categorized as FI-2 in accordance with IFC’s Sustainability Policy. The Project will not support coal-related activities, or higher risk business activities that may include: a) involuntary resettlement, b) risk of adverse impacts on indigenous peoples, c) significant risks to or impacts on the environment, community health and safety, biodiversity, cultural heritage, or d) significant occupational health and safety risks. For this investment, the Bank will be required to screen eligible SME loans against the IFC Exclusion List and host country environmental and social (E&S) laws and regulations. In addition, the Bank will be required to meet Life and Fire Safety requirements and the requirements of IFC’s Performance Standard 2 on Labor and Working Conditions. The key E&S risks and impacts derive from the BPR’s capacity to identify and manage the potential E&S risks associated with the SMEs supported under this transaction. These risks are typically associated with occupational health and safety, waste management, and air emissions, among others.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

The proposed Project entails an up to US$60 million equivalent in Rwanda Francs (RWF) senior unsecured loan to BPR with a tenor of up to seven years. The financing package is comprised of (i) up to US$40 million for IFC’s own account; and (ii) up to US$20 million mobilized from parallel lenders, on a best-effort basis.

IFC's Investment as Approved by the Board: Loan 40.0 million (USD)

Financial Intermediary
A financial intermediary is a bank or financial institution that receives funds from a development bank. A financial intermediary then lends these funds to their clients (private actors) in the form of loans, bonds, guarantees and equity shares. Financial intermediaries include insurance, pension and equity funds. The direct financial relationship is between the development bank and the financial intermediary.
Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

BPR Rwanda is majority owned by Kenya Commercial Bank Group (“KCB Group”) which holds an 87% ownership stake. KCB Group is the largest regional full-service banking group in East Africa. Headquartered in Kenya, KCB Group operates in Burundi, DRC, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. It also owns KCB Bancassurance Intermediary, KCB Capital and KCB Foundation. BPR Rwanda’s minority ownership consists of individual shareholders who collectively hold a 13% stake, with no single any individual owning more than 5%.

BPR Rwanda merged with KCB Rwanda in April 2022. Following the merger, the entity retained the BPR name and began operations as the new BPR Rwanda.


Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

BPR Bank Rwanda PLC.
Vincent Ngirikiringo
Chief Financial Officer
+250 788 140 000
vincent.ngirikiringo@bpr.rw
2 KN 67 Street P.O. Box 1348 Kigali Rwanda
https://bpr.rw/

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit a request for information disclosure at: https://disclosures.ifc.org/#/inquiries

If you believe that your request for information from IFC has been unreasonably denied, or that this Policy has been interpreted incorrectly, you can submit a complaint at the link above to IFC's Access to Information Policy Advisor, who reports directly to IFC's Executive Vice President.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC/MIGA

The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org

How it works

How it works