Rwanda’s First Female Central Bank Governor Wins African Woman in Finance Award at AFIS 2026
Luanda, Angola — November 4, 2026: Soraya M. Hakuziyaremye, Governor and Chairperson of the National Bank of Rwanda, received the African Woman in Finance award at the AFIS Awards 2026 ceremony held on November 3 in Luanda.
The honor, presented during the sixth edition of the Africa Financial Summit in partnership with Forvis Mazars, recognizes her leadership in advancing monetary and financial stability alongside a sustained commitment to financial inclusion.
An independent jury selected the winners across categories spanning banking, insurance, investment, fintech, and central banking.
Other recipients included Mary Vilakazi, CEO of FirstRand Group, for African Banker; Jurie Strydom of Old Mutual for African Insurer; Development Partners International for African Fund; Wave for African Disrupter; and Manuel António Tiago Dias, Governor of the National Bank of Angola, for African Central Bank Governor.
Hakuziyaremye became the first woman to lead Rwanda’s central bank in February 2025, after serving as Deputy Governor since 2021.
Her earlier career spans senior roles in international banking, including Vice President of Financial Institutions and Financial Markets Risk at ING Bank in London, positions at BNP Paribas and the Bank of New York Mellon, and a term as Rwanda’s Minister of Trade and Industry.
She also advised the Minister of Foreign Affairs earlier in her public-sector work.
Under her tenure and that of her predecessors, Rwanda has recorded sharp gains in financial access.
Formal financial inclusion rose from 21 percent in 2008 to 92 percent in 2024, with overall inclusion reaching 96 percent.
Women’s inclusion has narrowed the gender gap substantially, supported by mobile money expansion, targeted literacy programs, and gender-disaggregated data collection.
In 2026, Hakuziyaremye launched the National Financial Inclusion Roadmap 2025-2030, which shifts emphasis from basic access toward greater use of services, household financial resilience, and broader economic empowerment.
She has also managed a challenging macroeconomic environment.
In 2026 the central bank raised its key policy rate multiple times, including a move to 8.75 percent in August—the highest level in nearly two decades—to curb inflation that had climbed well above the 2-to-8 percent target band while the economy continued to post strong growth.
Officials have projected a return toward the target range in the second half of 2027.
Rwandan officials framed the award as recognition of national progress.
Ambassador Mathilde Mukantabana, Rwanda’s envoy to the United States, congratulated Hakuziyaremye publicly, describing the achievement as a point of pride for the country and an example of women’s leadership in finance.
The AFIS Awards highlight institutions and leaders driving measurable change in African financial systems, from expanded mobile payments to more inclusive banking practices.
For Rwanda, the recognition of its central bank governor underscores both the country’s rapid gains in access to formal finance and the continued work required to convert that access into lasting economic resilience.
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