In this section

Our Shareholders

Who We Are

Urwego Opportunity Bank of Rwanda, SA (UOB) is a licensed microfinance bank headquartered in Kigali, Rwanda.  UOB was created as a result of a merger in July 2007 between Urwego Community Banking, SA (Urwego), and Opportunity International Bank of Rwanda, SA (OIBR).  Urwego was a leading microfinance institution (MFI) in Rwanda founded by World Relief Rwanda in 1997, and from 2004 had been operating as an independent and regulated MFI in Rwanda with a nationwide presence.

OIBR was established by Opportunity International.  Opportunity is an international microfinance network dedicated to the development of transformational commercial microfinance banks in developing countries around the world.  Opportunity is a pioneer in the microfinance industry with over 40 years of experience and has established microfinance institutions in more than 20 countries throughout Africa, Latin America, Asia, and Easter Europe.

UOB’s vision is to be a financially sustainable microfinance bank, with a nation-wide outreach and a significant holistic impact on each of our customers’ lives.

Currently, UOB has more than 234* employees with an operational presence in all 30 districts of Rwanda.  UOB has 8 deposit-taking branches, with four located in the capital of Kigali and one recently opened in Musanze (February 2011).  We are proud to serve more than 97,000* clients with microloans and savings products.  UOB plans to continue expanding our product offerings and branch locations to better serve the economically-active poor in Rwanda with financial services and related training.

*All numbers and figures as of April 30, 2011