{"id":114752,"date":"2025-11-07T11:17:22","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T11:17:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/equity-bank-launches-ndi-umunyamuryango-drive"},"modified":"2025-11-07T11:44:19","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T11:44:19","slug":"equity-bank-launches-ndi-umunyamuryango-drive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/economy\/equity-bank-launches-ndi-umunyamuryango-drive","title":{"rendered":"Equity Bank Launches Ndi Umunyamuryango Drive"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>In a market where most banks focus on products, profits, and percentages, Equity Bank Rwanda is choosing to focus on people.<\/p>\n

Its new campaign, \u2018Ndi Umunyamuryango\u2019 (loosely translated as \u201cI am a member\u201d), aims to turn ordinary banking relationships into a shared sense of belonging.<\/p>\n

Equity Bank Managing Director, Hannington Namara, speaks during the launch of the new Ndi Umunyamuryango campaign in Kigali on November 4. All photos by Craish Bahizi.<\/p>\n

Unveiled in Kigali by Managing Director Hannington Namara, the campaign represents what the bank calls a shift from transactional banking to relationship-driven finance. It redefines customers not as clients but as members of a broader community built around shared growth, inclusion, and trust.<\/p>\n

\u201cA client walks in for service and leaves,\u201d Namara said. \u201cA member participates, benefits, and grows with the institution.\u201d<\/p>\n

Equity Bank has focused much of its lending on sectors considered critical to Rwanda\u2019s economic transformation, with about 60 percent of its loans directed to these areas.<\/p>\n

At its core, \u2018Ndi Umunyamuryango\u2019 is Equity\u2019s attempt to humanise banking and make it less about accounts and more about relationships. It aligns with the lender\u2019s ongoing effort to deepen financial inclusion, particularly among small businesses, farmers, women, and young people.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis campaign is about returning to who we are,\u201d Namara added.<\/p>\n

The new campaign, \u2018Ndi Umunyamuryango\u2019 (loosely translated as \u201cI am a member\u201d), aims to transform ordinary banking relationships into a shared sense of belonging. Photos by Craish Bahizi<\/p>\n

At the onset, the bank celebrated members and partners who go above and beyond, including top agents serving the most customers, schools excelling in SchoolGEAR usage, merchants with the highest card transactions, as well as customers leading on the Equity Mobile App.<\/p>\n

\u201cEquity started as a movement to empower ordinary people through access to finance. We are going back to that identity.\u201d<\/p>\n

From transactions to trust<\/p>\n

The campaign introduces a new narrative for the banking sector, one rooted in emotional connection and shared prosperity rather than competition on rates and products. Through \u2018Ndi Umunyamuryango\u2019, customers will be encouraged to share their stories and experiences, highlighting how access to finance has improved their lives and businesses.<\/p>\n

The campaign will extend across the bank\u2019s digital platforms and branches, using customer testimonies, social media engagement, and on-ground activations to emphasise belonging, loyalty, and empowerment over pure profitability.<\/p>\n

Banking that builds belonging<\/p>\n

Equity Bank has concentrated much of its lending in sectors considered critical to Rwanda\u2019s economic transformation. About 60 per cent of its loans target small and medium enterprises, while another 30 per cent finance agriculture and livestock, two pillars of the country\u2019s development agenda.<\/p>\n

That focus, Namara said, will remain central to how the membership concept is implemented by ensuring that growth in the bank\u2019s books translates into tangible opportunities for ordinary citizens.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people who trust us with their savings are the same people we want to see succeed,\u201d he said. \u201cIf they grow, we grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

The campaign also aims to reward members who engage actively with Equity\u2019s digital channels, such as mobile banking, agency banking, and card payments, through loyalty programmes and festive-season prizes.<\/p>\n

A promise and a challenge<\/p>\n

Clients, however, say the success of the initiative will depend on how Equity converts the membership rhetoric into measurable benefits.<\/p>\n

The bank\u2019s non-performing loan ratio dropped to 2.9 per cent in early 2025, down from 4.1 per cent a year earlier, indicating improved credit quality and disciplined lending. Still, customers and analysts note that belonging must be matched with transparency, shared value, and continued accessibility, especially in rural areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cNdi Umunyamuryango will only work if people truly feel that the bank is walking with them,\u201d said a Kigali-based financial analyst. \u201cThat means listening, rewarding loyalty, and investing in customer success, not just branding it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Belonging as the new currency<\/p>\n

With \u2018Ndi Umunyamuryango\u2019, Equity Bank is betting that a sense of ownership can strengthen its brand in a maturing banking market where competition is less about rates and more about trust.<\/p>\n

As Rwanda\u2019s economy digitalises and grows more inclusive, the campaign symbolises a broader shift from banking as a service to banking as a shared journey.<\/p>\n

Whether the initiative succeeds will depend on execution, but Equity\u2019s message is clear: in today\u2019s Rwanda, belonging might just be the new currency of banking.<\/p>\n\r\n