{"id":119025,"date":"2026-02-03T14:57:33","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T14:57:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/rssb-set-to-launch-30m-sme-fund-this-month"},"modified":"2026-02-03T16:40:43","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T16:40:43","slug":"rssb-set-to-launch-30m-sme-fund-this-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/economy\/rssb-set-to-launch-30m-sme-fund-this-month","title":{"rendered":"RSSB set to launch $30m SME fund this month"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>An investment fund aimed at supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will be launched by the Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB) by the end of February, as the institution continues to post strong asset and profit growth.<\/p>\n

The announcement was made by RSSB\u2019s Chief Executive Officer, Regis Rugemanshuro, on January 30, during the 30th Africa Social Security Association (ASSA) Governing Council Meeting in Kigali. The meeting focused on positioning African pension and social security funds as key drivers of development and financial inclusion across the continent.<\/p>\n

RSSB CEO, Regis Rugemanshuro delivers his remarks during the 30th Africa Social Security Association Governing Council, on January 30. Courtesy<\/p>\n

By channelling resources into SMEs to improve their access to financing, the fund is expected to stimulate innovation and drive economic growth, according to RSSB.<\/p>\n

Rugemanshuro said the fund was scheduled to begin this year and would be launched soon (in February), although the exact date has not yet been disclosed.<\/p>\n

He indicated that the fund will begin with an initial capital of $30 million, with plans to gradually expand it to $100 million or more.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis initiative aligns with the second phase of the National Strategy for Transformation (NST2), which places the private sector at the heart of economic growth,\u201d Rugemanshuro said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince much of the money we use comes from the private sector, we want to reinvest it to help build that same sector. This will be managed professionally, with a dedicated fund manager.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rugemanshuro said that a fund manager had been identified and was awaiting licensing from the Rwanda Capital Market Authority (CMA).<\/p>\n

Speaking to The New Times, the Chief Executive Officer of Private Sector Federation (PSF), Stephen Ruzibiza, welcomed the development, saying if the new fund addresses the challenges that businesses face, particularly the issue of collateral, it will be crucial, as access to funding has often been limited due to inadequate security.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor SMEs, especially those just starting, securing enough collateral to match the loan amounts they need is sometimes unrealistic,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Also, he pointed out that SMEs often struggle with high interest rates, with lowest charges estimated at 14 per cent annually, while other rates in the market can go as high as 17 or 18 per cent.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, there have been concerns regarding higher interests charged by microfinance institutions, such as Umurenge Savings and Credit Cooperatives (U-SACOs), where rates can rise as high as 24 per cent per year.<\/p>\n

Growth in RSSB assets, return on investment<\/p>\n

According to RSSB, the institution’s total assets under management stood at more than Rwf2 trillion for the financial year ending June 30, 2023, and have steadily grown to Rwf3.2 trillion in 2025. This means they increased by more than 50 per cent over the last two years.<\/p>\n

Rugemanshuro also highlighted the significant improvement in RSSB\u2019s return on investment over recent years, which has risen from 1.6 per cent around 2021 during the Covid-19 period to 15.6 per cent in 2025.<\/p>\n

RSSB indicated that its annual return on investment reached Rwf413 billion in 2025.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Rwanda<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. An investment fund aimed at supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will be launched by the Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB) by the end of February, as the institution continues to post strong asset and profit growth. The announcement was made by RSSB\u2019s Chief Executive Officer, Regis Rugemanshuro, on January 30, during […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":119024,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,15],"tags":[3405,758],"class_list":["post-119025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","tag-rssb","tag-rwanda"],"yoast_head":"\nRSSB set to launch $30m SME fund this month - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An investment fund aimed at supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will be launched by the Rwanda Social S ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/economy\/rssb-set-to-launch-30m-sme-fund-this-month\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"RSSB set to launch $30m SME fund this month\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An investment fund aimed at supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will be launched by the Rwanda Social S ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/economy\/rssb-set-to-launch-30m-sme-fund-this-month\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-03T14:57:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-03T16:40:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1770124207.618658.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"585\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/economy\/rssb-set-to-launch-30m-sme-fund-this-month#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/economy\/rssb-set-to-launch-30m-sme-fund-this-month\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"RSSB set to launch $30m SME fund this month\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-03T14:57:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-03T16:40:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/economy\/rssb-set-to-launch-30m-sme-fund-this-month\"},\"wordCount\":510,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/economy\/rssb-set-to-launch-30m-sme-fund-this-month#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1770124207.618658.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"RSSB\",\"Rwanda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/economy\/rssb-set-to-launch-30m-sme-fund-this-month#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/economy\/rssb-set-to-launch-30m-sme-fund-this-month\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/economy\/rssb-set-to-launch-30m-sme-fund-this-month\",\"name\":\"RSSB set to launch $30m SME fund this month - 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