From January 2022, the Economic Policy Research Network (EPRN) got a Research Grant from the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) under a project on Financial Inclusion and Market Development in East African Community Economies.

The Project on Financial Inclusion and market development in East African Community Economies, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation focuses on delivery of financial services/inclusion for the poor in the East African Community (EAC). The project entails four components as below :

1) To provide input to the research project on financial inclusion and market development in your country.
2) Partnerships with financial sector regulators and relevant government authorities
3) To provide leadership in organizing and participating in specialized technical workshops on digital financial services ecosystem ; and
4) To provide a platform for Policy Engagement on Digital Financial Services and market development towards retail electronic payments interoperability in Kenya and how this can be an input at the regional level.

Through this partnership, the EPRN will facilitate and undertake in-depth Rwanda country case study on issues relating to financial inclusion and financial market development in Rwanda. During the engagement, the EPRN will :

a) Assess the current drive and policy outcomes to achieve financial inclusion — in line with the national financial inclusion strategy
b) Advise on the appropriate combination of policies, instruments, and tools to achieve their financial inclusion targets and objectives in Rwanda.
c) Assess the existing architecture and policy drive towards retail and wholesale electronic payments interoperability platforms in Rwanda.
d) Provide an assessment of enablers to financial inclusion so that no one is left behind in Rwanda — focusing on connectivity, electronic ID system to secure the market and regulatory capacity to regulate, protect and nudge the market to the optimal development path (including other relevant enablers of policy or institutions).