Bank of Kigali has contributed Rwf 282 Million to Government efforts to provide socio-economic relief to vulnerable households in Rwanda as private sector contributions continue to soar.
The biggest bank in Rwanda made the announcement on Friday stating that at the time when the world is facing unprecedented challenges with communities and economies everywhere affected by the growing COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, Rwanda not being an exception, the Bank felt the need to chip in and support efforts to keep people resilient.
“In Rwanda a lockdown was announced in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus, restricting movement and visits outside homes except for essentials such as healthcare, food shopping, or banking. This situation is severely affecting our communities, particularly workers in the informal economy, as well as small business owners many of which are loyal clients of the Bank,” the Bank’s press release stated.
For the Community at large, Bank of Kigali made a contribution of Rwf 282 Million to go towards the COVID-19 solidarity fund which has seen many members of the private sector chip in to support government efforts. To support families struggling in this crisis, the BK Family contributed part of their compensation towards the fund.
“In these challenging and uncertain times, the wellbeing of our communities remains our utmost priority. We will continue to provide banking services preferably through digital channels and are committed to doing our part to ensure everyone’s safety and comfort. We understand that the needs of our community are considerable in this period and we wanted to make a contribution that would address the current needs due to the crisis we are facing,” said Bank of Kigali’s CEO, Dr. Diane Karusisi.
Relief for clients
Bank of Kigali also revealed new measures which will relieve some of the bank’s clients of their loan burden during the COVID-19 pandemic as businesses have been affected by the measures put in place to stop the spread of the new Coronavirus.
Among other actions, BK clients will have an opportunity to ask for a grace period on interest or principal (or both) of up to 3 months for business affected by the COVID-19 crisis.
BK also said that for customers who want to continue servicing their loan facilities, it will waive all late payment penalties on term loans (loans with monthly installments) including BKquick loans and Credit Card penalties for the months of March, April and May 2020.
The Rwf 282 Million adds to another Rwf 200 Million that has been raised by members of the private sector as well as tonnes of relief items to be distributed to vulnerable households as the COVID-19 lockdown continues at least till April 19.
