ACCESS TO FINANCE RWANDA

Request for Proposals

For

CONSULTANCY SERVICES TO CONDUCT AN IN-DEPTH ASSESSMENT OF COLLATERAL REQUIREMENTS IN RWANDA AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE LENDING LANDSCAPE.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

PROCUREMENT REFERENCE NUMBER: AFR/RFP-COLLATERAL REQUIREMENTS/OCT/2025.

BACKGROUND: 

1. About Access to Finance Rwanda 

Access to Finance Rwanda (AFR) is a Rwandan not for profit company established in 2010 to promote financial inclusion and financial sector development. AFR is currently funded by Sweden, Jersey Overseas Aid, Codevelop, and the MasterCard Foundation.

AFR is part of the broader Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) network in Africa that seeks to create a transformative impact on ending poverty by supporting efforts to improve financial inclusion and financial sector development through helping policy makers, regulators, financial service providers and markets drive a more inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

AFR supports the removal of systemic barriers that hinder access to and use of financial services by low-income people, particularly the rural poor, women, youth and MSMEs, and supports the development and provision of financial services including savings, credit, insurance, investment, payments, and remittances.

AFR is guided by the Market System Development (MSD) approach recognizing that efforts to increase financial inclusion and financial sector development must be market-led, profitable and sustainable. For more details visit our website: (www.afr.rw). 

2. Rwanda Bankers’ Association (RBA)

Rwanda Bankers’ Association (RBA) was formally established in 2009, to serve as an advocate for the banking sector in Rwanda. Its membership consists of all Banks duly licensed by the National Bank of Rwanda. The Association’s main objectives, among others, are to be the Bankers’ voice on non-competitive issues and to promote standards of professional competence. 

3. Background for the assignment 

Access to finance remains a critical challenge for MSMEs, which form the backbone of the country's economy. Despite efforts by the Government and other key stakeholders to enhance financial inclusion, many MSMEs still struggle to secure appropriate funding for several reasons, including lack of creditable financial statements, perceived high credit risk and the inability to meet collateral requirements. 

The lack of collateral plays an important role in limiting MSMEs’ access to adequate financial services. Most lenders have based their MSME credit products on the provision of sufficient collateral and most of the time, requiring highly marketable collateral and with a significantly high value relative to the loan amount. This reflects traditional credit risk mitigation mechanisms stemming and limited innovation in non-traditional credit scoring and underwriting to support inclusion of underserved segments. The current system leaves MSMEs unable to meet the current collateral requirements resulting in a significant impact on women and youth-led MSMEs. In addition, some existing policies and regulations hinder the development of some financing instruments, including the treatment of moveable assets as collateral. For instance, in line with the current Collateral Treatment Directive, the value of moveable assets (more accessible to MSMEs than immovable assets) is discounted to 30% of their market value when pledged to lenders as collateral. In addition, there are limited types of assets accepted by the regulation as collaterals for credit provisioning purposes.

4. Overall Objective of the assignment

The overall objective of this consultancy is to conduct a holistic in-depth assessment of collateral requirements in Rwanda, their impact on the lending landscape and actionable recommendations to spur inclusive MSME Financing and innovation. 

Interested bidders must confirm their intention to submit a bid by October 7, 2025, at 17h00 HRS CAT

Any requests for clarifications to the RFP may be submitted by October 10, 2025, 17h00 HRS CAT.

Bidders should submit their proposals no later than October 17, 2025, 17:00 HRS CAT

Responding bidders are advised that this solicitation does not in any way obligate AFR to make a contract award or compensate the responding firms for any costs associated with the preparation and submission of their proposals. Additionally, AFR may award a contract without conducting negotiations; all proposals should be submitted initially using your most favorable terms. AFR reserves the right to award any resultant contract to other than the offeror submitting the lowest price proposal based on technical excellence, schedule superiority or client request.

All communications regarding this RFP should be addressed via email: procurement02@afr.rw.

Below is the summary planned procurement schedule:

Note: This procurement is open to locally registered firms. However, collaboration or joint ventures with foreign firms to enhance technical capabilities are permitted.

Cordially,

Jean Bosco Iyacu

Chief Executive Officer