Money Matters: Bank of Kigali offers financial, business tips to Miss Rwanda contestants
Ahead of the most innovative project pitching scheduled for Tuesday, March 16, Bank of Kigali and Inkomoko Entrepreneurship Development held a session to share entrepreneurial and financial management skills with Miss Rwanda 2021 contestants.
During the morning session, the contestants had an interactive session with Nicole Kamanzi, the Regional Commercial Branch Manager, in charge of the City of Kigali and Paulette Mpano, from Inkomoko Entrepreneurship Development.
Kamanzi began the session by asking the contestants about their understanding of money or a bank, to which they gave several responses.
In their responses, the girls said money or a bank means capital, resources or wealth, that can be multiplied while others said money or a bank is something that can help one eradicate poverty.
“I appreciate that you all have an understanding of what money is and know what a bank does,” Kamanzi told the girls before asking them whether they own bank accounts or save, for that matter.
“For us at BK we believe that money is a resource, which if well used, can transform one’s life. We also believe that a bank as a financial institution has what it takes to transform lives, socio-economically,”
“That is why our slogan at BK is “financially transforming lives,” she explained to the contestants.
The session was also an opportunity to discuss what decisions the girls, much as they are still young, make with their money.
“Do you save or when you get money, you think about buying a nice bag, make up or other accessories? When you get more, do you think of saving or you still want to buy something else, a good shoe?” Kamanzi inquired from the contestants.
She said that responsibility with money begins at an early age because if you look around, everyone has responsibilities and it is only through saving that you can achieve your goals.
“When you save money, you will realise there is a sibling or relative you can support or you can also start a small business to multiply your savings,” Kamanzi said.
“As a responsible bank, our job is to teach people to use the little they have to turn it into more,”
“For example, if you were able to save that money and show the bank what you have been able to save, it can give you a loan to do a business because you showed your ability to save and the desire to develop yourself,” Kamanzi said.
She said that it is for the same reason that BK allows people to open different accounts.
“We have different types of accounts, even for students or children, on which you can save money and use it in future for personal development,” Kamanzi said, telling the contestants that there is no particular age to start saving.
Kamanzi challenged the girls to say whether they have accounts and explain the benefits of having one.
One of the girls said she uses her account to save money to achieve a certain target, while the other said that the account helps her keep the money and avoid the temptation of spending it.
During the session, the guests discussed different ways of accessing one’s account through digital and online banking as well as other types of transactions one can do such as swift transfers, to gauge their understanding of money and how it moves.
She explained to the contestants how money transfer services work, as well as the different bank debit and credit cards which can be used in different parts of the world -all of which BK offers.
Kamanzi took the girls through different services Bank of Kigali has to offer, including ‘Ikofi’, which is a product mainly targeting farmers as well as other loan products for people starting business projects.
Bank of Kigali, the premium sponsor of Miss Rwanda, will finance the most innovative project and pay a consultant to assist the winner for a whole year.
On her part, Mpano from Inkomoko, told the girls that they need to think outside the box and come up with projects that are unique, which will provide solutions for their communities.
She said that good entrepreneurship is about problem solving and not just replicating what is already being done, but rather being innovative to come up with ideas that make a difference.
Mpano and Kamanzi listened to different ideas from the contestants and gave them advice on how to improve them, ahead of the Tuesday pitching exercise.
Inkomoko, which was established in 2012 by Julienne Oyler and Sara Leedom, has been supporting upcoming entrepreneurs to turn their ideas into businesses, including refugees. The organisation is now spreading wings to other African countries including Kenya.
Mpano said that they support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to remain resilient through advisory business development services. Inkomoko is part of the African Entrepreneur Collective (AEC) network.
Mpano encouraged the contestants to start thinking about their lives, in terms of savings and what they can do with what they save, reminding them that the business incubation exercise will be focusing on those with tangible ideas.
“If you get you opportunity to pitch, make sure that you have an innovative idea that is worth financing,” she said.
The speakers urged the contestants to have ‘bankable ideas’ in order to stand a chance to win.
They urged the girls to speak with confidence and express themselves during the pitching session.
“You must own the project. You have to come with ideas and be ready to pitch them,” Kamanzi said.
