News

On August 25, 2023, the Centre Universitaire de Recherche pour le Développement Economique et Social (CURDES) disseminated three research papers generated by the BMGF/AERC-supported project, the Digital Financial Services for the Poor in the East African Community (DFSP-EAC) at the City Hill Hotel, Bujumbura, Burundi.

The opening speeches were made by Dr. Reverien Nizigiyimama, the Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Management; Prof. Gilbert Niyongabo, the Director of CURDES; and Dr. Mark Korir, Manager, Training (AERC). The workshop was attended by industry players, including the Central Bank of Burundi, Ministry of Finance, Microfinance institutions, banking associations, academia, journalists, and other players.

Michael Armel Ndayikeza presented the paper titled “Utilisation du mobile money: une analyse comparative du Burundi avec d’autres pays de la Communauté d’Afrique de IEst (CAE)”. He made the presentation on behalf of the other two co-authors, Arcade Ndoricimpa and Jean Claude Nyamweru.

Prof. Arcade Ndoricimpa presented the paper titled “Le mobile money pour une inclusion financière accrue au Burundi” which was co-authored with Jean Claude Nyamweru and Michael Armel Ndayikeza.

The third paper, titled “Possession d’un téléphone portable: un pont pour assurer les services bancaires aux exclus du système bancaire” was presented by both co-authors, Saidi Bizoza and Gildas Irakoze.

The discussions were coordinated by Mr. Boaz Nimpe, the Chairman of the Association of Banks and Financial Institutions, Burundi, with papers generating a lot of interest among the industry players. With Kenya leading in the East Africa region, it was noted that there was great potential for Burundi to upscale its financial inclusion position.