Rwanda has begun testing a new digital platform for agricultural lending, aimed at reducing the time smallholder farmers wait for loans from the current five to seven weeks to less than 48 hours.
The six-month pilot began in September 2026 and is being carried out through Umutanguha Finance PLC, COPEDU, Bank of Kigali and the Development Bank of Rwanda.
The platform was developed by the National Bank of Rwanda in partnership with the Rwanda Information Society Authority, the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources and the Ministry of Local Government, with support from Access to Finance Rwanda.
BNR Governor Soraya Hakuziyaremye disclosed the initiative on October 8 while presenting an update on monetary policy and financial stability.
“The digital agricultural lending platform is aimed at helping smallholder farmers access loans through technology while also reducing the time they spend waiting to receive them,” Hakuziyaremye said.
BNR research showed that farmers currently wait between five and seven weeks to receive agricultural loans. The central bank considers the waiting period too long for a sector where farmers often need financing at specific times in the farming cycle.
The pilot will assess how technology can simplify the process of applying for and receiving agricultural loans before the platform is introduced more widely in 2027.
Under the system being tested, the period between submitting a loan application and receiving the funds is expected to fall to less than 48 hours.
The initiative comes as Rwanda seeks to increase the share of loans from regulated financial institutions going to agriculture to 10%.
Agriculture accounted for 5% of total loans issued during the first half of 2026, up from 3% during the same period in 2025.
In real terms, lending to the agricultural sector increased by 177% to Rwf57 billion.
Hakuziyaremye said agricultural lending remained below the level needed to provide sufficient investment for the sector.
The pilot is part of wider efforts by financial regulators and public institutions to use digital infrastructure to expand access to financial services.
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