KCB Bank Rwanda and Banque Populaire du Rwanda (BPR) have officially joined to form one bank, known as BPR Bank Rwanda Plc, following the successful acquisition of BPR by KCB Group from Atlas Mara Limited and Arise B.V.
The acquisition of majority shareholding of BPR was successfully completed in August 2021 through outright purchase of Atlas Mara and Arise B.V. shares to a tune of 32 Million USD following approvals from both the financial sector regulators in Kenya and Rwanda. KCB Group’s total shares of BPR Bank Rwanda Plc stand at 87.5%, with the other 12.5% belonging to local shareholders.
Speaking during the launch event, KCB Group CEO and MD Joshua Oigara said, “Today we are officially launching a robust and unified bank BPR Bank Rwanda. We are delighted with the possibilities that lay ahead, as this integration has enabled us to buttress our leadership position, giving us a stronger edge to play a bigger role in driving the financial inclusion agenda in East Africa, while building a robust and financially sustainable organization.”
BPR Bank Rwanda is now the second-largest bank in Rwanda with an asset base of 648 Billion RWF and a network of 154 branches, playing a critical role to support a budding economy to drive financial inclusion in the country by focusing efforts on; inclusive growth, equality, financial opportunities, money management, investment initiatives, the standard of living, and poverty reduction.
“In collaboration with Banque Populaire du Rwanda, we have created a strong bank in Rwanda which will serve the community better and more efficiently. To ensure that this happens, we will continue leveraging our technology prowess and our increased scale to drive financial inclusion, and bank the unbanked in Rwanda. We have been presented with a great opportunity to empower the communities and grow the economy of Rwanda,” said KCB Group Chairman, Andrew Kairu.
In line with KCB Group’s strategy to scale their business in the region, the bank pursued the opportunity to strengthen its international businesses through the acquisition of Atlas Mara Limited Group shares in Banque Populaire du Rwanda PLC and is now pursuing acquisition opportunities in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“BPR Bank Rwanda holds a lot of promise. We will continually tap into the strengths of both BPR and KCB Bank Rwanda, to offer our customers additional value. We want to revolutionize the way we do business, guaranteeing ultimate satisfaction to our esteemed customers, as they interact with us,” said BPR Bank Rwanda Managing Director, George Odhiambo.
BPR Bank Rwanda is the second successful bank acquisition by KCB Group, following the National Bank of Kenya (NBK). For the full year 2022, NBK posted Kshs 1.1 billion in profit after tax. This represents a 431% increase from 2020.
