Refugees and Their Money – Understanding the Enablers of the Camp Economy in Rwanda

The report examines the 'camp economy' in Rwanda, highlighting how refugees use mobile money and informal savings groups to manage funds due to barriers in formal banking. It identifies expired identity documents and unclear 'Know Your Customer' (KYC) regulations as primary obstacles to financial inclusion. While refugees demonstrate strong business acumen, most NGO-supported livelihoods only provide subsistence-level income, and there is a significant gap in access to credit for business expansion. The document argues that including host communities in financial initiatives and streamlining regulatory requirements for refugee IDs would create a more viable market for financial service providers.

• Unclear and inconsistent KYC requirements hinder the ability of refugees to access formal financial services, as different financial service providers (FSPs) and even different branches of the same bank apply varying documentation rules.
• Many refugees rely on mobile money as a secure alternative to cash storage to mitigate the risk of theft within the camps.
• Livelihood activities promoted by NGOs, such as tailoring, carpentry, and chicken farming, generally only provide subsistence-level incomes and fail to boost refugees to more profitable levels due to restrictions on mobility and identity.
• There is a critical need for business credit to enable expansion, as most refugees lack the collateral required by formal FSPs and have limited credit histories.
• Refugees utilize informal financial mechanisms, such as Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) and rotating savings clubs, to save and borrow small amounts.
• Financial service providers perceive the refugee population as a weak standalone business case due to high price sensitivity and the lack of regular income, often preferring a sponsor to absorb transaction costs.
• A significant 'idea gap' and lack of information hinder young entrepreneurs in the camps from identifying and starting new business ventures.
• The use of Equity Bank cards as collateral for store credit is a common coping strategy for refugees to stretch their cash assistance toward the end of the month.

APA

FSD Africa (2018). Refugees and Their Money – Understanding the Enablers of the Camp Economy in Rwanda. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Compressed.pdf

Chicago

FSD Africa. Refugees and Their Money – Understanding the Enablers of the Camp Economy in Rwanda. 2018. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Compressed.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=FSD Africa |title=Refugees and Their Money – Understanding the Enablers of the Camp Economy in Rwanda |date=September 2018 |url=https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Compressed.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{fsdafrica2018refugees, author = {{FSD Africa}}, title = {{Refugees and Their Money – Understanding the Enablers of the Camp Economy in Rwanda}}, institution = {FSD Africa}, year = {2018}, month = sep, url = {https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Compressed.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }